ALBERTON – As you may have guessed Eskom was the main cause of the first problem, with widespread load shedding that once again disrupted business and adversely affected residents. But as some one recently said. “welcome to the reality of living in South Africa!”
The second problem was however of a much greater concern to me. This problem involved the theft of electrical switches from substations and electrical boxes in Randhart. Thieves executed acts of electrical sabotage by stealing and vandalising a large number of municipal electrical boxes. Notwithstanding the fact that theft is a crime, when you steal electrical infrastructure you contribute to the national energy crisis.
The main difference between load shedding and theft is that when the load shedding is over the power is back on. With electrical cable and component theft when the load shedding is over, the power stays off until the stolen components are replaced. The Metro Police and SAPS profile cable and component thieves as “unpredictable people, in many cases drug addicts” so it is very hard to know where they will strike next.
Load shedding make it quite easy for these criminals to hit an area like Randhart while the power is down. The Police have a non-ferrous metal crime combating committee in place that targets the organised crime syndicates. Even tough SAPS officers have managed to curtail this to a certain extent, the problem persist in Alberton and Ekurhuleni.
I believe that this criminal activity should be classified as sabotage, and punishment must match the crime if criminals are caught. Ekurhuleni has in the past few months experienced a sharp escalation of this kind of cable and component theft. The City of Ekurhuleni spends millions a year in replacing cables and switches as a result of theft, and this is a direct cost to the ratepayers of our Metro. This is not just costing ratepayers money, it is causing disruption and devastation to the lives of residents.
Residents are encouraged to report suspicious people opening or working in Ekurhuleni electrical boxes. Metro staff and contractors will be clearly visible in marked vehicles. Let’s bridge this gap and rid Alberton of unwanted criminals stealing our electrical connections. Please follow me on Twitter @neildiamond7 for regular municipal updates.
