Sparks fly as municipality cracks down on electricity thieves
Electricity theft will no longer be tolerated. This is the message that the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality is sending to both residents and business owners by cutting the electricity supply of those who bridged their meters or connected illegally.
About the fact that more than R900 million is owed to Escom, the mayor Sechele Sebolai accompanied officials, on a mission to cut the power supply of businesses with illegal connections in Modimolle.
On Thursday 7 March, the team followed up on a tip-off and found that the meter of a grocery store, the adjoining liquor store, and a house in which the owner stayed, was bridged. The grocery store ran several large refrigerators, but their payment history showed that they buy only a few Rands of electricity each month. They also didn’t have a permit to trade. The municipality cut the cables to the shops and closed them down by placing new locks on the doors. They accompanied the owner, a foreign national, to the police station where they laid charges of theft against him. He appeared in the Magistrates Court the following day. (Video available here: Municipality cracks down on power theft)
Business owners were called to a meeting on the issue, at the municipalities OR Tambo Hall on Friday 8 March. The meeting was attended by business owners, including several foreign nationals, as well as the mayor, the municipal manager Ben Thobela, councilors, officials, and representatives of the police and the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet).
“When we visited businesses in town, we found that many of them had illegally connected to the electricity supply network. Many of them did not have the necessary permits to conduct business. We struggle to pay Escom as a result of this. The proceeds of the electricity that is stolen, are supposed to help the municipality provide services such as repairing potholes and streetlights and improve our water infrastructure. If you steal electricity, you are stealing from the community,” Sebolai said.
He said that the municipality will visit businesses and households to check the electricity meters.
“Spaza by spaza, tavern by tavern, house by house – we will find all those illegally connected electricity meters. We can see your payment history and will know if you steal electricity.”
On the issue of municipal workers being involved in the bridging of meters, he said that they know who the culprits are.
“We are building a case against them and they will be dealt with.”
The municipality will also check if businesses comply with the by-laws and have the necessary permits and liquor licenses in place. Sebolai told tavern owners that the municipality would request the Liquor Board to suspend their liquor licenses if they stole electricity. He had stern words for foreign nationals too who connect illegally to the electricity supply and do not adhere to other rules.
“Many of the shops we found had connected illegally and belonged to immigrants. Stop doing this immediately,” he said. “We want our towns to return to its former glory. We will not allow our towns to be killed by electricity theft. Help us to grow the economy in our municipality – there are no shortcuts,” he said.
