The Democratic Alliance (DA) has tabled an urgent motion in the Nala Local Municipality council following the death of a nine-year-old child and municipal workers from exposed electrical infrastructure in Bothaville.

The motion, submitted to the Speaker of Nala Local Municipality in terms of Rule 29 of the Council’s Standing Rules and Orders, requires the municipality to secure all open and live electrical boxes and provide clear remediation timelines by 29 May.

The action follows an oversight visit to the town during which DA councillors identified multiple electrical boxes that had been left open for months, posing a significant risk to residents, particularly children and pedestrians.

The February death of the nine-year-old child from open power infrastructure prompted demands from the community for urgent government accountability regarding the town’s power grid negligence.

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Civil rights organisation AfriForum has launched an independent investigation following the deaths to hold municipal leadership accountable for infrastructure maintenance failures.

Motion requirements

The DA motion resolves that council ensures all exposed electrical boxes are urgently secured and properly closed, and that a full investigation be conducted into why the boxes were left open and unattended for an extended period.

The motion further requires the municipality to determine whether there are cost implications relating to repairs or replacements, and whether proper installations were previously not completed.

The DA has called on Nala Local Municipality to take immediate corrective action to repair or replace electrical boxes in the streets of Bothaville.

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The continued exposure of live electrical infrastructure endangers lives and undermines basic municipal safety obligations, according to the DA.

The municipality is required to respond to the motion by 29 May, providing clear steps and timelines for remediation.

Ongoing investigations

Both the DA and AfriForum are monitoring the situation to ensure municipal accountability for the infrastructure failures that led to the tragic deaths.

The investigations aim to establish why critical safety maintenance was neglected for an extended period, exposing residents to preventable accidents.