Tampering fines adopted by City of Mbombela council

Those who are tampering with electricity under the City of Mbombela (CoM) will be expected to pay heavy fines or face a jail term if they are caught

This comes after the CoM council adopted the motion to amend the municipal by-laws regulating tampering with electricity, raised by Freedom Front Plus’s Cllr Ken Robertson during a special sitting at the CoM chambers on Friday September 29.

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Robertson submitted an amendment to the by-law that will carry heftier fines for business and domestic establishments.
Businesses that are found guilty will be fined R10 000 on the first offence and R30 000 on the second one, or the relevant jail time, and households guilty of domestic theft will be fined R5 000 on the first offence and up to R20 000 on the second one, or the relevant jail time.

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“Despite the R1.3b debt to Eskom, CoM’s electricity by-law only made an allowance for a R500 fine on the first offence or the relevant jail sentence. The law did not distinguish between theft via domestic use or business theft. We must at least start with the correct legislation to get us there,” Robertson said.

The motion was adopted unopposed. However, the CoM council speaker, William Nkatha, said the matter would be referred to the municipal technical services department to draft the new amendment for the council to approve.

The process will also go through public participation, where the residents of Mbombela will have their input.