Please find attached soundbite in English by Tony Bridger.
- Criminals continue to target critical electricity infrastructure, leaving residents and businesses without power.
- Infrastructure theft must be met with stronger policing, successful prosecutions, and better protection of municipal assets.
- The DA is calling for urgent action to Catch. Convict. Clean Up. and restore reliable electricity.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned by the continued vandalism and theft of critical electricity infrastructure in Rustenburg, which continues to disrupt power supply, damage municipal assets, and place unnecessary hardship on residents and businesses.
Protecting critical infrastructure requires more than simply repairing damaged equipment after every incident. It requires a coordinated response between the Rustenburg Local Municipality, the South African Police Service, and other law enforcement agencies to strengthen security at substations, increase visible patrols at vulnerable sites, improve surveillance, and ensure that those responsible are identified, arrested, and successfully prosecuted.
A recent incident in Bo-Dorp, where criminals allegedly targeted a municipal mini-substation and caused extensive damage after stealing transformer oil, left thousands of residents and businesses without electricity. While electricity has since been restored, the incident once again exposed the vulnerability of the municipality’s electrical infrastructure and the devastating impact that infrastructure crime has on local communities.
Infrastructure theft is not a victimless crime. It is organised criminal activity that robs communities of essential services, costs taxpayers millions in repairs, disrupts businesses, and undermines economic growth. Every act of vandalism leaves law-abiding residents paying the price while criminals continue to operate with little fear of consequences.
Equally concerning is the lack of reliable communication with affected residents during major outages. Communities deserve regular updates on restoration efforts, while ward councillors should be equipped with accurate information to assist residents during service disruptions.
Criminals cannot be allowed to sabotage public infrastructure with impunity. They must be caught through visible policing and effective investigations, convicted through a criminal justice system that delivers real consequences, and our communities must be cleaned up by protecting public infrastructure and holding offenders accountable.
The DA believes that safe communities and reliable service delivery go hand in hand. Residents deserve a municipality that protects critical infrastructure, works effectively with law enforcement agencies, communicates openly during service disruptions, and puts the interests of law-abiding citizens first. The
DA will continue fighting to Catch. Convict. Clean Up. because residents deserve communities where criminals fear the law and not the other way around.