Mitchell’s Plain in Area South and Hanover Park, Heideveld, Athlone and Manenberg in Area North have been named hotspots for electricity infrastructure vandalism and damage.
This as the City of Cape Town recorded R1 million’s electricity vandalism damage in February.
The most incidents of electricity vandalism and illegal connections that were recorded occurred in the metro’s Area North as well as in Atlantis and the central city areas of Woodstock and along Philip Kgosana Drive. In Area South, Mitchell’s Plain recorded the most incidents.
The City continues to deploy proactive measures to help curb the vandalism scourge and is calling on residents to help protect community infrastructure. Streetlights and electrical kiosks were the most vandalised infrastructure.
“In February 2022 almost R1 million was recorded in damage from vandalism and illegal connections. The City is trying to keep Cape Town lit but vandalism, theft and illegal connections cause a lot of damage and unnecessary power outages. These actions drain our resources from much-needed maintenance and upgrading work and places the City’s capital programme at risk,” says Mayco member for energy Beverley van Reenen. A million rand could rather have been spent on expanding service delivery, as in many cases, sadly, as soon as the City fixes or replaces vandalised infrastructure, it is vandalised again. There are some shifting trends visible, such as the number of incidents in Area North, and also a move of incidents of theft and vandalism into the more formal metro areas.
She further urged residents to report any suspicious activities near electricity infrastructure to both the Police and the City.
“We often leave streetlights on in some cases to deter vandals and where lights are out due to vandalism, the City fixes it as soon as possible.
“Sadly, often as soon as lights have been fixed, they are vandalised again. The City does deploy security and monitor hotspot areas where possible, but we rely on our communities to alert us and to help us protect community infrastructure,” she says.
Police remain the lead authority in crime prevention.
Report damage to municipal electrical infrastructure:
SMS: 31220
Email: power@capetown.gov.za
Anonymous tip-offs welcomed and reward offered.
Residents can give anonymous tip-offs if they are aware of illegal activity.
Please call 021 480 7700. A reward is also offered for information leading to the arrest of perpetrators and confiscation of stolen goods.
