"10.1 ...Live parts of plugs shall not be accessible when the plug is in partial or complete engagement with a socket-outlet..."; and

 
"10.3 ...It shall not be possible to make contact between a pin of a plug and a live socket contact of a socket-outlet while any other pin is accessible..."

 
Operating on a tip-off resulting from the recently introduced EE Publishers for Citizen Journalism initiative, Vector editor Peter Adams visited a number of major retail outlets including Hi-Fi Corporation and Massmart Group outlets, Makro and Builders Warehouse, and purchased various commonly available portable socket-outlets and multi-plug adapters.

 
Products purchased included those imported by Yodata Electronics, Ellies and SGA Trading, and although the manufacturer is not stated on the product or packaging, it has since been established that all of these are manufactured in China, and branded Yodata, Ellies and SGA sElectrix, respectively.

 
None of the above products display the SABS Mark, although on one of them, the Yodata SMP10WSW 10-way portable socket-outlet/multi-plug adapter, the wording "SABS approved" is printed on the packaging. (It has since been established that Yodata Electronics does not have an SABS Mark Scheme permit for its SMP10WSW product, and as such the display of the wording "SABS approved" on the product and/or its packaging is expressly forbidden and in breach of the SABS Mark Scheme.)

 
In addition, after Yodata alleged that the locally manufactured Crabtree 2034 5-way portable socket-outlet/multi-plug adapter exhibited the same problems as the Yodata units, a sample of this product, which bears the SABS Mark of approval on its plastic molding, was also purchased for examination.

 
A cursory inspection and some basic tests on the Yodata, Ellies and SGA sElectrix products purchased, using a standard multi-meter, revealed that they are all quite obviously unsafe, and pose a danger of electric shock to children and adults in the home and workplace.

 
The design of the shutter mechanism on the Yodata, Ellies and SGA sElectrix sockets, the positioning of the live contacts within the sockets, the dimensioning of the plastic housing around the sockets, and the positioning of the 5A 2-pin European style and Schuko sockets with respect to the 16A 3-pin South African style sockets, allow plugs to be inserted incorrectly with exposed live parts.

 
The design and quality of the locally manufactured Crabtree C2034 multi-plug adapter is, however, in a different league. Whilst being even more compact than the others, its socket shutter mechanism is of a quite different and superior design, making it impossible to insert a plug incorrectly in such a way that allows exposed live parts.

 
Unlike the others, it is also impossible to defeat the live and neutral shutters on the socket-outlets of the Crabtree C2034 and thereby gain unsafe access to the live and neutral connections within a socket by inserting a pencil, earth pin of a plug, or similar, into the earth socket.

 
A most disturbing aspect, however, is that when approached by EE Publishers, Yodata, Ellies and SGA all claimed to have SABS test reports and/or Letters of Authority from the NRCS indicating full compliance with the requirements of VC8008 and SANS IEC 60884-1, including Clause 10: Protection against electric shock.

 
When asked for comment, the response from Steven Winer, merchandising manager of Yodata Electronics, was: "Please take this matter up with the SABS and NRCS, and not us. We are fully compliant."

 
But in taking up the matter with the SABS, we were advised that the test reports are confidential between SABS Commercial and its client, Yodata Electronics, and that we should request the test reports from Yodata as the owner the reports.

 
And when raising the matter with the NRCS, the response from its acting executive: non-perishable products, Cyril Musi Ndlovu, was that until May 2011 the importer is not required to have a Letter of Authority from the NRCS for these regulated products, and that a test report from a SANAS accredited laboratory confirming compliance is all that is necessary.

 
"Please note that there is no legal ground for NRCS to take action against Yodata at this stage. NRCS is a statutory body and therefore it must act within its mandate", he added.

 
At this point, having received a threatening letter from Yodata Electronics' lawyers, in order to prove non-compliance with the compulsory specification, VC 8008, EE Publishers had no option but to have repeat tests conducted at its own cost and effort by the very same Materials and Installations Laboratory of the SABS National Electrical Test Facility (NETFA) that Yodata claimed had previously tested its products.

 
As expected, the re-tested Yodata sample failed to meet the mandatory requirements of Clause 10.3 of SANS IEC 60884-1, thus proving the inherently flawed and unsafe design of the Yodata socket and shutter arrangements. The SABS test report commissioned by EE Publishers has since been submitted to the NRCS.

 
The NRCS Act, the regulations to the Act and the NRCS website clearly indicate the mandate, duties and obligations of the regulator, namely to serve the public and the industry interest, to ensure public safety and to prevent unfair trade practices, through market surveillance and the statutory enforcement of South African compulsory specifications. The NRCS has wide powers to achieve these obligations.
 
In this instance, as evidenced from its response to date, the NRCS is quite clearly failing in its mandate to the country, the industry and public of South Africa. It is the NRCS that should be conducting the necessary market surveillance, and, where necessary, arranging appropriate tests, not EE Publishers! 

  

The fact that these products are clearly and obviously unsafe, and could cause severe injury and even death, made little impression on the importer or regulator. They simply turn a blind eye. Does someone have to die before the manufacturer, the importer and the retailers realise that safety is more than just a piece of paper to cover their back-sides? Since when is a certificate all that matters?

 
It seems that for these regulated products, we are back to the old Roman rule: Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!