Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English by Luan Snyders
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Executive Mayor of Rustenburg, Shiela Mabale Huma, calling for urgent intervention in response to the repeated vandalism of critical municipal infrastructure. (See letter here.)
This includes targeted attacks on the Noord Substation and the Industries Substation, and rising incidents of cable theft, all of which have led to widespread and recurring power outages in the city. (See pictures here, here, here, and here.)
The DA is concerned that the intelligence capacity within the Directorate of Public Safety and its coordination with the South African Police Service (SAPS) is severely lacking. The continued failure to proactively identify and address hotspot areas has allowed these criminal activities to escalate unchecked over the past five to six months.
In light of these ongoing failures, the DA is calling for the Director of Public Safety to implement consequence management within the department. Furthermore, a comprehensive report on corrective actions must be submitted to Council.
The DA also calls on the Executive Mayor and the Municipal Manager (Accounting Officer) to oversee and ensure full accountability and implementation of these measures.
Rustenburg cannot afford to allow service delivery to be undermined by preventable acts of sabotage and neglect. The DA remains committed to fighting for a safe, well-governed city where infrastructure is protected and residents receive the services they deserve.