‘Mayor to blame’ for Reiger Park power looting
Cables from the electricity substation were recently stolen
Power cable thieves continue to loot Ekurhuleni’s power utilities in Reiger Park, resulting in perpetual power outages in the area.
According to Ward 34 councillor Charlie Crawford, the thieves recently stole 72 metres of power cable from the electricity substation located in the veld near St Anthony’s Education Centre.
The substation supplies power to the community of Reiger Park and surrounding areas.
Crawford said it costs the metro in the region of R72 000 to replace this amount of stolen cable.
Thieves also recently entered the Reiger Park Sports Arena and dug up a few metres of cables, leaving the facility without power.
Stadium caretaker Alexander Boucher and security guard Mkhuseli Mtsali said they are under attack from heavily armed cable and electricity thieves who regularly storm the property.
“At one stage the thieves fired shots at us and we have had to run for cover and locked ourselves inside the building.
“We called the police but when they arrived, while we were still hiding inside the building, the attackers told the police that they were the ones who called them after they noticed people stealing the cable. The police believed them and left,” said Mtsali.
To add insult to injury, electricity thieves blatantly continue to connect electricity illegal, and their illegal connections result in the system being overloaded, causing damages and electricity tripping now and then in the whole township. – Crawford
“This thing really annoys residents who pay for their electricity. It causes power failures, and power surges damage people’s home appliances every now and then.”
Crawford took the Advertiser to one spot where izinyoka (thugs/thieves) tap into electricity from the box outside the stadium and a mini-substation next to Reiger Park Secondary School.
Cables were seen running on the ground across about 200 metres of veld, down to the nearby old mine hostel in Joe Slovo informal settlement, and finally connecting to scores of hostel rooms and nearby shacks.
Mayor
The ward councillor said he has on numerous occasions alerted the electricity department to the problem, but they are seemingly unable to control the situation.
“I raised the matter several times with officials but to no avail. The fault lies with the mayor who, as part of his election campaign promises, promised to electrify all informal settlements.
“People are now unrepentantly resorting to stealing electricity because he has failed to deliver on his promises.”
Crawford said his other concerns about people regularly connecting to the network illegally is that it puts the rest of the community, children in particular, at high risk of being electrocuted.
“While I support the community’s call for electricity, resorting to stealing electricity is unacceptable because of all its negative ramifications, including the damages caused to the infrastructure which as a result hit taxpayers hard.”
The metro has not yet responded to a request for comment on the issue.
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