Illegal electricity connections kill family pets
Their lifeless bodies were found lying in the grass.
FURTHER illegal electricity connections claimed the lives of two beloved dachshunds, Lulu and Jock, last week. It could, however, have been a far worse scenario if their companion, a four-year-old boy, had followed them to an open field on Quarry Road in Uvongo.
Lower South Coast SPCA field officer Sabelo Ngcobo was called out after hours last Thursday to discover the lifeless bodies of the little dogs lying in the grass.
On arrival Mr Ngcobo saw steam and smoke rising from the body of one of the dogs. Due to the danger of the live wires, the officer had to wait for Eskom to intervene.
Eskom confirmed on Monday this week that it had removed a lot of wires from the area. The bodies of the dogs were later buried.
The incident has saddened the dog’s owners, as they had been their oldest boy’s shadow – wherever he went, the dogs would follow. But it could have been worse… the live wires could have claimed the life of their son.
Staff at the business premises told the Herald that illegal electricity connections had occurred three or four times last year and that two of its staff members had also been electrocuted. These illegal practices have also left their electricity bill astronomically high.
Eskom has since agreed to move the electricity box into their property, which will hopefully prevent any further incidents.
Michael Muller, manager of the SPCA, said that he was not only concerned about the danger of exposed live wires to wildlife and pets but to adults and children walking in the area.
Making illegal connections around the Masinenge informal settlement is certainly not a new practice. Last year, Johan Louis van Wyk (58) was electrocuted in Margate, after stepping on an illegal electrical wire connection near the Masinenge informal settlement.
Also last year, Eskom and the police ripped up 300m of electricity cable that was found spanning the R61 from Uvongo to the Masingenge settlement after they were alerted by the Herald.
The cable was connected to an Eskom power substation in Alamein Drive. It ran across the highway and eventually split into a network of wires that disappeared into the heart of the Masinenge settlement.
