Note to Broadcasters: Please find linked soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Erna Rossouw.
Hartbeespoort residents continue to suffer extended electricity blackouts. If residents and businesses are not dumped in the dark by Eskom’s load-shedding, then it is due to criminals stealing cables.
In many towns throughout the country, Eskom’s scheduled load-shedding serves as the perfect opportunity for criminals to steal electricity cables.
Residents and businesses often suffer extended blackouts because of old and poorly maintained electrical infrastructure unable to carry the surges linked to load-shedding and cannot afford another extra minute without electricity supply.
The extended blackouts caused by cable theft motivates the rise of other crime such as house burglary.
Last week 30 metres of electricity cable were stolen around the Ifafi Substation, the fourth such incident in recent weeks.
The DA in the Madibeng Local Municipality wrote to the Acting Municipal Manager, James Mashigo, to implement measures to secure electricity substations throughout Madibeng. See letter here.
We have also written to the Hartbeespoort Acting Station Commander, Kol Erick Brandt, requesting increased police visibility at cable theft hot-spots and electricity substations throughout town. See letter here.
It is common knowledge that cable theft is an opportunistic crime because of load-shedding and that these thieves are integrated into an organised crime syndicate, exploiting the collapse of Eskom’s ability to supply electricity to all residents all the time.
More must be done to prevent cable theft, through visible policing and securing critical electricity infrastructure. And where these crimes do take place, they should be properly investigated to ensure successful arrests and prosecution.