STATE-OWNED telecommunications parastatal, TelOne, has approached the High Court seeking an order compelling Media Technics and Liquid Telcom to pay over $116 000 compensation for its cables damaged during a trenching exercise in Bulawayo last year.
BY CHARLES LAITON
In its application, under case number HC10647/14, TelOne said the damage on its cables, had caused a revenue loss of $5 985, 85.
According to TelOne, sometime between May and June last year, and at a number of sites in Bulawayo, Media Technics and Liquid Telcom’s employees allegedly damaged cables with a replacement value of $110 668, 10.
TelOne said Liquid Telcom had engaged Media Technics to undertake trenching or construction works which resulted in its cables being damaged.
“By engaging the first defendant (Media Technics) to undertake the trenching and construction work aforesaid, the second defendant (Liquid Telcom) assumed a duty of care to ensure that plaintiff’s cables would not be damaged,” the parastatal said.
“The failure on the part of the second defendant to ensure the first defendant’s employees and or agents would not damage plaintiff’s cables during the process of the trenching and or construction work, renders the second defendant liable to plaintiff for any damages arising from the conduct of the first defendant’s employees and or agents aforesaid.
“Wherefore plaintiff claims against the two defendants jointly and severally one paying the other to be absolved: — payment of the amount of $110 668,10 being the replacement value of the damaged cable; payment of the amount of $5 958, 85 being the loss in revenue arising from the damaged cables and interest on the amounts above at the prescribed rate of 5% per annum calculated from the date of Summons to date of payment in full and cost od suit,” TelOne said.
