A family whose two huts were destroyed as a result of an alleged electricity fault, is blaming Eskom for not responding to their query. Ms Rendani Nemandava (45) of Makonde Village, north of Thohoyandou, said her meter box problem was reported to Eskom on Wednesday, May 24, 2006.

“An employee from Eskom came on the same day we reported our problem, and told us that the meter box would be fixed the next day. We waited in vain for five days, but nobody ever came to fix it…”

Rendani said there was an unusual noise in the meter box and sometimes the figures on the screen would disappear. She said sometimes the power would come on at a high volume and she was afraid that it could result in a fire.

She explains how her huts caught fire: “It was at about 20:00 on Monday, May 29, when I heard a sound from the meter box. When I went out to investigate, I realized that there was fire coming from the meter box. The fire was so hot that it invaded the first hut in a very short space of time. Neighbours came and tried to extinguish the fire but they couldn’t, because it was too strong. Two extinguishers came and the fire was finally put down after five hours…”

Rendani says the fire has damaged all the goods that were in the huts, causing damage estimated at R50 000.

“We lost all the furniture, which includes a bedroom suite, wardrobe, clothes, blankets, food and R3 500. My four children no longer have clothes and we don’t know what to do as a family. We are sharing the remaining mud hut and it is not easy to stay there because there is no privacy.”

The destitute mother said she had submitted a letter from the local headman and an affidavit from the police to Eskom the day after the incident. She said a staff member started filling out the Customer Claim Submission Form for her but said it could not be completed because there was no reference number. She said her family has neot heard anything from Eskom since then.

“How did they come to my home and tell me that my meter box problem would be solved if they do not have a reference number? Why must I suffer because somebody is not doing his job properly? All I want is compensation from Eskom because they are the cause of all this misery. If they had fixed my meter box in time, my two huts would have been safe now.”

The deputy-chairperson of Makonde Sanco, Mr Jeffrey Gundula, said he personally reported Rendani’s problem to Eskom. “I submitted a list of villagers with problems to Eskom and Rendani was one of them…”

Eskom’s Thohoyandou customer service area communications practitioner, Mr Thiofhi Ratshitanga, said Eskom is still waiting for a detailed technical report from their engineering department about the exact cause of the fire. He said the issue of a reference number is nothing to go by, as it is something that is merely generated by the system.

“If the investigations recommend that there is negligence on the part of Eskom, we will sit down with the family and discuss how we can compensate them…”

* Community members who would like to assist the destitute Nemandava family with food, clothing and other donations can call 082 747 9517.