9 YEAR OLD CHILD ELECTROCUTED BY ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS IN KANANA

A 9 year old child was electrocuted to death after touching exposed electrical cables running past the family shack in Kanana, Rabie Ridge late last week.

The cables are suspected to have been used for illegal power connection. The Kanana informal settlement is one of the many hotspots identified by City Power to be rife with illegal connections.

In a statement the MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Cllr Mpho Moerane said: “Illegal connections lead to overloading of the network, leading to frequent outages, as seen this past winter. Not only do illegal connections cost the City millions in lost revenue, they are also a danger to the residents, especially children.”

The MMC has vowed that City Power will intensify the cut-off of illegal connections across the City, while continuing with an education drive about the dangers of vandalism and illegal connections.

He went on to urge Councilors and community leaders to assist the City in identifying illegal connections and educating the community of the dangers of the illegal connections.

The City of Johannesburg is engaging with other departments to ensure that informal settlements such as Kanana receive legal electricity.

During the National Lockdown on the 17th of June 2020, City Power initiated an operation to cut off illegal electricity connections in the Kanana area in collaboration with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), JMPD and EMPD.

However, the illegal connections were connected back to the grid no so long after law enforcement officials had left the area.

We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the electrocuted child.