Dear Editor,
Our Community – Kwakwani is still trying to regain its composure after the terrible tragedy that claimed the lives of two women on February 7th 2007, one an elderly great grandmother who was caring for her blind husband and the other a single parent working to maintain her three children.
We as residents still have to be exceedingly grateful since one could only imagine what would have happened if the children who are housed at a hostel were there.
The investigation into the tragedy continues, but in the meantime, we the residents will have to get our acts together and work towards avoiding any recurrence. When the Kwakwani community was established, it was a concession and the free movement of persons was restricted. Electrical transformers could have been placed on the ground in secured cages. Today, the community is an open one and the transformers are still on the ground in unsecured enclosures. This situation warrants immediate attention in light of our recent tragedy. A massive programme to remove all the transformers on the ground to a higher level in the community must commence without delay, thus eliminating the hazard of 2400 volts going to ground.
GT&T must also get involved in this programme because there are telephone lines that are not in use that can get in contact with these high voltage wires. With one of the responses from the authorities responsible for electricity in Kwakwani being “we were not informed about any problem” after the tragedy, it is time for this entity to come out in public and inform the residents about their mode of operations. When an emergency occurs residents must know where to go, who to contact, how to report (written/verbal) and in what time frame they would get a response. If they don’t want to hold a public meeting the television station is at their disposal.
The passing of these women should open our eyes to the dangerous environment that we residents of Kwakwani are living in. Every Agency that has a stake in Kwakwani must get on board.
May the souls of Oslyn and Aunty Dolly rest in Peace.
Yours faithfully,
Jocelyn Morian
