The Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni has warned that more innocent lives are going to be lost if illegal electricity connections are allowed to continue in communities.
Following the news of the death of 10-year-old Asandile Pati, who was electrocuted as a result of illegal connections in Thokoza over the weekend, Clr Gungubele said it is time for the community to say ‘enough is enough’.
“Every time we make an effort to remove illegal connections, we get attacked by angry communities.
“The sad scenario is that the practice claims innocent lives on an annual basis, yet communities still allow it to continue,” said Clr Gungubele.
“Our communities must understand that while this is a threat to the electricity grid in the country, our main issue as a municipality is the loss of innocent lives.
“Not only do people get electrocuted, even those who rely on electricity-dependent life-support systems are endangered because of unplanned power outages forced by overloading the system,” he said.
The mayor urged parents to keep a watchful eye on their children as a deterrent to more of such incidents.
Clr Gungubele has sent his condolences to the family of little Asandile.
Asandile tripped and fell on the illegal wiring while playing with his friends in Thokoza.
Meanwhile, Clr Gungubele has appealed to local communities to support the city in its ongoing campaign against illegal connections. The campaign started two years ago.
Mr Zweli Dlamini, the mayoral spokesperson, said the campaign is targeted at hot-spots and has already resulted in illegal connections being removed in, among other areas, Thokoza, Dukathole and Langaville.
Mr Dlamini said the EMM loses almost R200-million from the theft of electricity each year.
