During the past two weeks, residents of Welverdiend and some surrounding areas had frequent blackouts because of vandalism at the facility.
“The CPF patrollers work every night but criminals continue to steal some of the infrastructure,” says the secretary of the Carletonville CPF, Ms Wena du Plessis. When the Herald visited the substation on Monday, it was obvious why the criminals could get into the property so easily, despite the many patrols.
There is an inviting, man-sized hole in the fence right in front of the facility that has been tied loosely with a piece of wire.
This means that criminals simply have to undo the wire to gain entry.
“We have asked the municipality to repair the fence so many times but they haven’t done anything about it.
As it is, our patrollers already have to look after the facility as there are no guards. They are volunteers who do it for the love of the town, while there are people who are paid, but do nothing to help,” Du Plessis says.
When the Herald asked the municipality for comment, the spokesperson said the authorities were aware of the broken fence and would look into the problem. “However, this is a wire fence and, every time we fix it, people steal parts of the fence.
It is an immense task to keep up with the vandalism in Welverdiend and other areas,” the spokesperson said on Tuesday.
