Mbombela residents urged to report faulty street lights
The municipality insisted that it does attend to street lights when it receives complaints about it, even though some of the residents do not officially report the problems to the municipality, and instead take to social media.
Residents of Mbombela have been fuming about dysfunctional street lights for a long time, while others have accepted the dark streets.
James Rich, who resides in Ferreira Street, said he has reported broken lights to the ward councillors and the City of Mbombela (CoM) on numerous occasions.
“I had to learn to live in a dark street, because I have accepted that they will not fix them. I have been reporting the faults, but nothing has happened,” he said.
Nic van Rensburg claimed he had reported street light faults in Skool Street as long ago as July 2019.
“I followed up, sent emails and made phone calls, but nothing happened. We are expected to pay full rates while we are not getting full services. In Ehmke Street, for many years now, the street lights have been off. My question is, why are the people who are hired to repair the street lights not doing their job?” he said.
ALSO READ: Five suspects due to appear in White River Magistrate’s Court for possession of explosives
CoM’s spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, said the municipality is aware that there are street lights that have not been working for some time. He said it is because they are next to old trees and the roots short-circuit the underground cables. Another problem is that residents do not officially report the problems to the municipality, and instead take to social media.
ALSO READ: Two more arrested in Mbombela for R1.8m fraud
“We attend to complaints and repair lights. For instance, some lights need bulbs changed, but if they are not reported, the municipality will not know,” he said.
“When the problem is underground, it takes some time to repair, since they need to dig out the cable to trace the problem. In some instances where branches are interfering with electricity supply, we cut them off, but it becomes a problem when the tree is in someone’s yard,” he said.
Ngala also added that most of the streets are now on energy-saving bulbs.
The municipality said it is in the process of making sure that all the street lights are in working order.
