by Mark Botha, editor of Vector magazine, EE Publishers
The South African Electrical Installation Regulations require registered electrical contractors to issue certificates of compliance (CoCs) in accordance with the Wiring Code (SANS10142-1) on completion of work on an electrical installation.
An Accredited Inspection Authority (AIA), acting as agent of the Department of Labour (DoL), may be called in to inspect the electrical installation if there is any doubt of the validity of the CoC and/or the compliance of the electrical installation with the Wiring Code.
It was against this backdrop that Mark Palmer of the Gauteng Accredited Inspection Authority (GAIA) became aware of some 2000 cases of invalid CoCs and sub-standard installations reported to the Department of Labour (DoL) since 2005. None of these cases, says Palmer, had been responded to by the Chief Inspector as dictated by the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, prompting Palmer to conduct an exercise of his own.
He packaged a total of 145 cases where complaints had been lodged in respect of sub-standard electrical contracting work, complete with the relevant reports, complaints, certificates and photographs, and sent them to the office of the Chief Inspector at the DoL. He says copies were also sent to the DoL's Gauteng provincial office under whose jurisdiction all of these cases fall. A subsequent follow-up exercise by Palmer revealed that neither the Chief Inspector nor his department had responded to any of the cases, which he says contravenes the dictates of the OHS Act. The provincial office, to its credit, had acknowledged receipt of six of the cases reported.
Palmer says the Chief Inspector is required in terms of legislation to issue written notification to the contractor who issued the CoCs of his intention to revoke the contractor's license unless the contractor can justify his actions or set matters right at the installation within 14 days.
Palmer says he is also in possession of over 40 complaints of shoddy workmanship and CoCs issued on non-compliant electrical installations by a single contractor in the greater Johannesburg area, who is said to be operating and issuing invalid CoCs without visiting installation sites or conducting inspections. A visit to the contractor's registered "physical address" led Palmer to a vacant plot in Rivonia.
He says he reported the perpetrator to the office of the Chief Inspector some 30 times, yet no steps have been taken against the illegal operator who is, to this day, contributing greatly to the deterioration of the safety of electrical installations in this country.
Palmer says the industry is currently witnessing the "steady decline of the role and status of the AIA". While an AIA functions as an agent of the DoL, without the latter's co-operation in terms of enforcing legislation, the AIA is left effectively toothless.
In light of this, says Palmer, the AIA's role in terms of helping the public has been reduced to providing assistance in law suits against non-compliant electrical contractors.
Perhaps, he says, an attorney should investigate this matter. Over 40 end-users would not have hired the offending electrical contractor had the DoL responded to at least some of the 30 reports "lying on the Chief Inspector's desk".
Vector put the matter to the office of the Chief Inspector, and the deputy director for electrical engineering at the DoL replied: "Kindly provide a list of the complaints that were sent to the provincial offices so we can respond to these allegations". Mark Palmer has now been asked to provide the information requested above to both Vector and the DoL for follow up.
