The executive mayor of the Nkomazi Local Municipality, Cllr Phindile Magagula, has noted with concern the perpetual cable theft and vandalisation of water treatment plants and related infrastructure.
On Saturday night, a group of criminals went to the KaMhlushwa Pump Station and allegedly attacked a municipal pump operator and a security guard on duty.
Both the pump operator and the security guard sustained severe injuries and were rushed to the nearby hospital with the assistance of community members.
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During the break-in, electricity cables and other related equipment were stolen and vandalised, resulting in
the pump station being unoperational.
A case of theft, robbery and grievous bodily harm has been opened with the KaMhlushwa police.
The extent of the damage is still being assessed and quantified in monetary terms.
The villages serviced by this pump station, KaMhlushwa, Phosaville, KaMdladla and Phiva, are currently without water due to the damage.
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“The municipality is urgently attending to this matter to ensure that water provision is back to normal. I want to appeal to the community at large to help with information that will lead to the arrest of these perpetrators.
“This barbaric vandalism on water-related infrastructure does not only costs us millions of rands in repairs, but it also leads to the community being without water for an unnecessary longer period while the municipality is trying to fix the extent of the damage,” said Magagula.
