'I am pleased to have seen the work which is ongoing along these important stretches of road. With the cable replacement with aluminium it is hoped that the lights will remain on and reduce the incidents of theft and vandalism. Approximately 6km of roadway will now be lit which provides an important safety benefit to residents and is an essential deterrent to criminals to steer clear. The work will be completed in stages and is expected to cost some R850 000. The replacement of cable with aluminium is a new and necessary action which we are taking across the metro to tackle cable theft. 

‘The City has attended to hundreds of electricity vandalism-related faults in recent months and disconnects illegal connections to City infrastructure across the metro on a regular basis. We encourage community members to assist us in ending this scourge. The City has some of the highest burn rates of streetlights in the country and work continues to keep up the standards and to improve. 

‘The City apologises for any inconvenience caused when streetlights are out, especially due to perpetual theft of cables and vandalism of the infrastructure. Apart from launching the Electricity Safety Teams to help fight vandalism and theft of electrical infrastructure, the City is replacing material that is in high demand due to scrap metal value with material that does not have the same value. City teams are on the ground daily in areas across the metro to complete essential maintenance and upgrades to electricity infrastructure,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen.

Any suspicious behaviour must be reported to the City’s law enforcement agencies or the City’s Fraud Hotline on 0800 1100 77 or to the South African Police Service (SAPS). The SAPS remains the lead authority in crime prevention.  

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