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City records 201 incidents of vandalism, illegal connections – almost half in Mitchells Plain, Philippi

<p>The City recorded 201 incidents of electricity vandalism and illegal connections in the third quarter of 2023. The Mitchells Plain, Philippi district was the worst affected district with 85 recorded incidents.</p><p><br></p>

<p>The most vandalism and electricity theft incidents occurred in September 2023, with 81 recorded for Area South, 27 for Area North and 18 for Area East.<br></p><div>‘While we are seeing a decrease in vandalism incidents in many areas, it is alarming to note the increase of vandalism in Area South, particularly the Mitchells Plain district. The Mitchells Plain district not only includes areas within Mitchells Plain but areas outside of the region such as Lotus River, Grassy Park and Philippi. All these areas are hotspots for vandalism and illegal connections.</div><div><br></div><div>‘Approximately R4 million has been spent on the repair and replacement of damaged infrastructure in the last three months and sadly, many of the incidents are reoccurring where the same infrastructure is vandalised. In Philippi and the surrounding areas for example, we are seeing a number of these reoccurring incidents taking place. Our teams carry out regular illegal connections disconnections in the area and will continue to monitor hotspots.<br></div><p><br></p><span><figure class="subtopic-fullsize-img"><img class="responsive" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Images%202/Mitchells%20Plain%20substation.jpeg" alt="" style="width:2342px;" /></figure></span><div><br></div><div>‘In the Muizenberg, Mowbray, Helderberg, Bloemhof and Atlantis districts the City recorded less than five incidents each for these areas in the last three months. In previous years, Atlantis experienced many more incidents and we are glad to see our enforcement work paying off. Community support and reporting is assisting us greatly in clamping down on incidents. Every single call to the City and the South African Police Service helps. <br><br><span><figure class="subtopic-fullsize-img"><img class="responsive" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/Media%20Images%202/Town%20Centre%20vandalism%20Eastridge%20November%202023.jpg" alt="" style="width:1633px;" /></figure></span><div>‘Let’s ACT. Let’s Stand Up and stand together so we can bring these criminals to book,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen.</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Streetlights – help the City keep them on by reporting suspicious activity to SAPS and the City</strong></div><div><br></div><div>The City is responsible for 245 000 streetlights in the metro and it is through the City’s enforcement agencies doing everything possible within our mandate to address theft and vandalism of streetlight infrastructure in all hotspot areas. </div><div><br></div><div>Vandalism hotspots are monitored as far as possible. Help us keep the lights on by reporting all suspicious behaviour near our infrastructure.</div><div><br></div><div>Single streetlight outages or faults are attended to within 14 days and faults affecting multiple streetlights are attended to within 48 hours, where possible. </div><div style="text-decoration:underline;"><br></div><div style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Where delays occur due to high electricity request volumes, we ask residents to please be patient with us while our teams attend to it as quickly as possible.</strong></div><div><br></div><div><strong>Report damage to municipal electrical infrastructure:</strong></div><div><strong>• SMS:</strong> 31220</div><div><strong>• Email:</strong> power@capetown.gov.za<br></div><div><br></div><div><strong>Anonymous tip-offs welcomed</strong><br></div><div><strong>Reward of R5 000 if tip offs lead to arrests. </strong></div><div><strong>Call: 0800 1100 77</strong></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><strong>End</strong><br></div></div><p><br></p>

2023-11-10T22:00:00Z

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