The impact of metal theft and the theft of municipal property was recently highlighted by Ward 92 Clr Kade Guerreiro after ongoing incidents in Meadowdale and his ward.
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Guerreiro said manhole covers, substations, telecommunication infrastructure and a variety of municipal infrastructure are repeatedly targeted by suspects.
He said the problem, which existed before he became a councillor, has just worsened over the years.
He said recently, a large portion of fencing meant to keep pedestrians from accessing the R24 was stolen.
“The sign that used to say ‘Welcome to Klopperpark Clinic’ has been stolen too,” he said.
He said the day after the February 8 accident on Edenvale Road the traffic lights had been taken.
“Anything that is metal is being taken.”
Guerreiro said in light of the crimes, he has been told by the City that in the instances when traffic lights are vandalised, it cannot afford to replace the intersection.
“If there aren’t signs to tell you where to go, it is going to cause problems. If there are no barriers along roads, it is going to be a problem.”
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He said the situation has become so bad that security companies are now providing additional patrols in the Meadowdale and Tunney areas.
Guerreiro said a recent day-long power outage in Meadowdale and the surrounding area was caused by attempted theft.
He said individuals attempted to steal six megavolt cables
“The city has spent more money moving away from copper and using aluminium cables.
“The suspects burn something on top of the cable to get to it, and although the aluminium is better and more durable, once the cable is damaged, an outage still occurs,” said Guerreiro.
He said the actions of the suspects have a snowball effect, not only having financial implications for the City but for businesses in the area too.
Guerreiro said that as a result of the outage, a fresh produce company lost R500 000 worth of stock.
Although he couldn’t comment on who was committing the crimes, Guerreiro said most theft incidents occurred at night, with some during the day.
He urged community members who see suspicious activity to report it as soon as possible to the police or himself.
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“When in doubt, report the problem.”
He said municipal employees will always be in branded vehicles and have identification and work orders with them.
“For the sake of the community, we need to stop this.”
Guerreiro can be contacted on 071 899 8646 or emailed at Kade.Guerreiro@ekurhuleni.gov.za.
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A request for comment was sent to the City of Ekurhuleni and the EMPD on February 22, requesting comment by February 24 at 14:30.
At the time of going to print, no comment was received.
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