Given two Weeks to Pay

One Amie Cole-Coulisin of Bijilo, a businesswoman, has taken National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) to court over what she claimed to be a breach of contract. Appearing before magistrate Moses Richard of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, the plaintiff, Mrs. Cole-Coulisin, claimed damages and breach of contract.

The plaintiff claimed from NAWEC the sum of D31, 000 as damages, loss of earnings and profit, plus D5000 for breach of contract.

In an attempt to substantiate her claim the plaintiff told the court that she is a subscriber in NAWEC’s Cash Power facility. She said she currently has a mini market in Bijilo, which is housed in a rented property from Bijilo Development Committee. She said she had applied for a Cash Power meter for herself.

Further testifying the plaintiff told the court that in the month of June this year NAWEC came to fix the meter and installed all the electrical appliances in her mini market. She said that some 15 minutes after the meter was fixed, some strange smell pervaded the premises and the stabiliser began making noise whereupon she immediately switched off all the appliances and called a technician to find out what was responsible for the problem. The technician, she added, advised her to call NAWEC.

She adduced that she contacted NAWEC, who came and confirmed that they had mistakenly connected two wires and proceeded to do the connection properly the same day.

She said when she told NAWEC that two of her refrigerators and wall fan had stopped working; they checked and discovered that they were burnt. She said she told one Mr Nyang that she needed to be compensated her for the burnt appliances, but Mr. Nyang told her to complain to NAWEC, which she did. She added that one Mr. Corr told her to put the complaint in writing, which she also did. After several follow-ups, she went on, nothing happened.

The defendant, NAWEC, did not appear in court. The court later delivered judgement in her favour for the sum of D31, 000 for damages, loss of earning and profit, D5, 000 for breach of contract, cost of D2, 500 and interest, to be paid within two weeks.