MEDIA RELEASE
NO. 174/ 2010
10 MARCH 2010


The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services, Alderman Clive Justus, has called for national intervention in order to deal with the problem of illegal domestic electricity connections.

Alderman Justus said that a report dealing with illegal connections in the Metropolitan area served before the Utility Services Portfolio Committee some months ago. The report, however, did not conclude how the eradication of the unsafe and illegal electricity connections found in many of the informal settlements within the boundaries of the city could be accomplished. “National Government must therefore intervene if the problem is to be tackled with any degree of permanency,” he said.

Unauthorised and illegal connections are made by residents, primarily in the informal settlements, for lighting, cooking and use of the radio. Alderman Justus said that there are thousands of privately erected overhead cables or lines of thin wire laid across the ground from shack to shack, often for hundreds of metres.

In some cases supply is siphoned from legal existing metered connections where the electricity is being paid for. In other areas, the existing Municipal or Eskom supply is illegally tapped into, without any payment for the electricity that is used.

Previous attempts to remove illegal wire and cabling have proved fruitless as the connections are often re-instated within a few days. In addition there is a concern for the safety of the City’s officials who are often confronted with angry and sometimes violent residents. There have been previous incidents where the South African Police Services were forced to take action against the protestors to defend and protect City staff.

There have also been numerous incidents of death and serious injury. Sadly, children playing in the vicinity of the exposed wires are the most common victims, suffering electrocution. “This situation is worsened by wet weather and a practical solution thus needs to be decided upon and implemented urgently. Illegal connections must be eliminated or, at the very least, drastically reduced,” said Alderman Justus.

The illegal use of electricity occurs both in the Eskom and the City’s areas of supply within the Metropole. There are approximately 143 000 informal dwellings in the Metropole, 40 000 of which have illegal connections to the electricity supply system. The City is engaged in an ongoing roll-out of the electricity supply network and the installation of new connections and supply boards to shack dwellers. Last year some 2500 new connections were provided and a similar figure is expected this year.

Alderman Justus said that the Department of Labour is responsible for enforcing the regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. “We have communicated with the Department’s Provincial Executive Manager requesting action, but have received little success,” he said. A delegation from the City will now request a meeting with the National Chief Inspector of Labour in Pretoria to try and expedite co-ordinated action at a national level. “Illegal electricity connections are a country-wide problem, so action needs to be taken at a national level,” he added.

In the interim, further consumer education will take place in an attempt to warn residents of the inherent dangers of these illegal connections.


END

ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
CITY OF CAPE TOWN


MEDIA QUERIES:
ALDERMAN CLIVE JUSTUS
MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER: UTILITY SERVICES
TEL: 021 400 1206 CELL: 083 628 4136

MARIUS VAN DER WESTHUIZEN
MANAGER: INFRASTRUCTURE, ELECTRICITY SERVICES
TEL: 021 446 1929 CELL: 084 645 1261