The eThekwini council lost R66-million last year because of illegal and stolen electricity, but in the township areas of Cato Manor this cost equates lives. Community health officials report 13 deaths from electrocution, while the electricity department and the South African Police Service have recorded seven. But the true number is considerably higher - the lure of free electricity outweighs the threat to lives.
The reality of life in Cato Manor, Cato Crest and Wiggins is unbelievable to those who have only to flick a switch to get electricity.
The 30 000 residents in this area do not have this basic commodity for a number of reasons. They are living in an under-developed area, there are no underground powerlines to source them and, even more simply, they cannot afford it. The street lights along Bellair Road and Old Dunbar Road have loose wires hanging from their electricity boxes, tampered with by local residents desperate for free electricity.
By day these wires lie open and are a safety hazard. By night, the danger increases. When the street lights come on, residents attach lengths of roughly connected cable they have rolled up in their shacks, stretched over their corrugated iron roofs, through the bushes and along the ground.
Raw electricity feeds through these open pieces of wire that crisscross through kilometres of township and squatter homes.
"We cannot tell where the wires begin and end. But from one cable, as many as 30 homes get electricity," said Cato Manor police officer Captain Morgan Naidoo. Many live in fear of electrocution, but the necessity of having electrical power overwhelms that fear.
The police and eThekwini Electricity Department know of seven reported electrocutions over the past 12 months.
"Five of those seven were children under 12," said the electricity department's Central Region Energy Control Officer, Chris Gower.
But health workers in the community say they know of at least 13 deaths.
"We know the number of lives lost is much higher than the numbers we are getting, but the community does not report these deaths as electrocutions. Sometimes they just take the victim straight to hospital and don't tell them what happened or where they came from," said Naidoo. "They are scared they or their neighbours will lose their illegal electricity."
One five-year-old boy was luckier than most, but across his small neck is a huge pink scar.
"It looks as if someone took a sjambok to his neck," said health worker Ethel Herempi. "He had been playing with friends. They had a rope and were swinging it and jumping. But the rope was not long enough. The little boy saw 'string' lying close by, reached over and tugged. 'It was like fire came out the end', was his description to me."
There are 12 health care workers in the area, and all have seen or heard of incidents involving electrical current. Minor injuries or burns are dealt with by the families and are not reported.
Cindy Sithole, who lives in the area, said: "Yes, we are afraid. But we need electricity." She said she wouldn't talk about where the source came from or where it went.
"There are so many people illegally getting electricity here and so many injuries and deaths," said police reservist Constable Robert Ncube.
In another shack, a woman was getting ready for the day. She has a television in a cabinet, a fan, a stereo system and a hot plate.
"No, don't take," she pleaded as the police walked in through her mud doorway. "Don't worry, mama, we're just looking today," explained Naidoo as he led us into her home.
Naked bulbs hung from the roof, open wires and cords were everywhere as children played among them, unaware of the dangers.
"We have confiscated more than 20 tons of cable, but now the community is using that thin telephone wire," said Gower. "That is more dangerous as it is harder to see on the ground. We have contacted Telkom and are trying to get to the source of the supply."
A joint night-time operation between the electricity department and the police resulted in 12 suspects being arrested late last year. Gower said they had an illegal services unit that had been granted R1,5-million towards combating this problem in central Durban.
"Our worry areas are Cato Manor and Mpumalanga," he added. "We used a digital camera to take photos of hot plates working, kettles boiling and televisions on." He added that they were waiting for the outcome in court as they needed a strong deterrent to stop the illegal use of electricity.
"If we disconnect them, half an hour later the wires are reconnected," he added.
