The DA has accused the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) of being unresponsive to the plight of ward 92 residents, who were left in the dark for more than 31 hours this week.
The affected areas included Meadowdale, Buurendaal, Highway Gardens, Klopper Park and Harmelia.
“Some residents said that on Sunday night the ‘Zama Zamas’ (illegal miners) burned tyres underneath the cables that were exposed, in an attempt to steal the cables,” said the ward 92 councillor, Clr Tiziana Plaskitt.
“However, the cables were still damaged and at 8pm on Monday, November 21, the power went off as a switch had blown at the substation. The power was restored at 11pm the same night.
“At 1am on Tuesday, the power went off again. The exposed, burnt cables were then discovered in Bell Street, Meadowdale. What concerns the DA is that this seems to have become an annual occurrence,” said Clr Plaskitt.
“The DA questions why the EMPD is not protecting these cables or, because it is a known weak-spot, why the cables were not buried under the concrete to protect them. The metro has to come up with a plan to stop this. It is clear there are not enough workers on the ground attending to problems. It appears that one team is on site doing the work of the two teams.”
She recommended that the metro invest in cable theft prevention solutions such as a cable theft monitor or intelligent vibration sensors, able to detect cable defects or potential risks or threats.
The NEWS sent a media inquiry to the EMM on November 24, requesting comment by November 25 at 9am. No comment has been received.
