Frustrated representatives from 105 Austerville Drive are questioning the legitimacy of contractors employed by the Department of Human Settlements (DoHS) after illegal electrical connections made from their flats to a neighbouring informal settlement.
The shocking discovery was made earlier last week. Marlon Nero alongside his brother, Quinton Nero, said the connections were made without the approval of eThekwini Electricity, making them illegal and costly for ratepayers. “While we were in decanting units, as contractors worked on our apartments, they connected electricity from our building to informal residents living in a nearby wendy house.”
Under the Austerville Rectification Project (ARP), which began in 2013 at an estimated cost of R120 million, the department had been tasked with creating sustainable settlements which included renovations to existing DoHS buildings, like 105 Austerville Drive. The Nero brothers said meetings with the Ward 68 Councillor, Austerville Project Steering Committee (APSC) and DoHS representatives have yielded no solutions and they are still left with no certificate of compliance or official documentation for the approval of the electrical connection as well as explanations regarding poor workmanship.
Aubrey Snyman, Ward 68 councillor, said he was aware of the poor workmanship and that the DoHS had approved the electrical connection. “This matter has been discussed with the APSC in which I was given the list of snags which I was advised the relevant stakeholders are looking into.” However the Nero brothers say that without eThekwini Electricity accessing the power supply, or being made aware of the connection, a serious fire outbreak would be imminent. “This electrical board is only meant for six units, half of the 105 Austerville Drive flats. Now it is connected to 15-plus informal residences with no metered system or certificates of safety and compliance. Basically, these residents are getting free electricity that is putting us, as paying users, in danger; all with the DoHS approval. Before this, informal residents were stealing electricity from a nearby church which had shut down due to Covid-19.”
The Southern Star reached out to the DoHS and eThekwini Electricty several times and did not receive a response. “We have been victimized for asking these ‘inappropriate’ questions which are all within our constitutional right, and should have been met with transparency instead of dishonesty. We only work with physical, paper evidence of which the ARP, private contractors and DoHS have yet to provide. It is our job to ensure the safety of flat residents, especially those who are elderly and voiceless,” the brothers said.
Currently, the Nero brothers are awaiting confirmation from eThekwini Electricity after launching a detailed formal complaint two weeks ago. They said, “The more we look into this one issue, the more come to surface. In two weeks we move back into our flats. We are not against the informal dwellers but the safety, longevity and irregular activities carried out by private contractors under the DoHS. We need answers and fast.”
