The City says it has seen a slight increase of vandalism of its electricity infrastructure in the Atlantis and Helderberg areas.
They add that the estimated damage to infrastructure, for April, will cost the City R2,4 million to repair and replace.
While they’ve seen a downward trend in vandalism, theft and illegal connections incidents in some districts of the city, it remains a challenge with some areas such as Atlantis and Helderberg showing an increase according to the latest data.
Mayoral committee member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen, said community support has played a critical role in curbing these criminal acts.
They said through enforcement agencies, and the Metal Theft Unit (MTU) in particular, they continue to do everything possible to address theft and vandalism of infrastructure.
According to the City, in the first three months of this year the MTU arrested 54 suspects, issued just over 2 000 fines, recovered hundreds of kilograms of infrastructure belonging to the City, Eskom, Telkom and other entities. In addition, they conducted 561 inspections at scrapyards, during which they issued 95 warning notices and closed 29 facilities.
“In April this year, the City’s Electricity Generation and Distribution Department continued to record incidents of infrastructure vandalism across the city. Atlantis, including Mamre, and Helderberg regions have seen a slight increase in incidents.
“Our teams have seen a drop in incidents in the other hotspot areas such as Vanguard region. This is a positive trend and we thank residents for doing their part, being vigilant and for reporting these incidents to us,” she said.
Residents are encouraged to give anonymous tip offs if they are aware of illegal activity, such as illegal connections or unlawful occupations, that are taking place; that have happened or are still to happen. Please call 112 from a cell phone (toll free) and 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 for emergencies.
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Picture: Cape Town ETC
