Picture: iStock/ PaulFleet
A City of Cape Town supervisor and crew driver was shot by a group of teenagers who robbed him and his crew while they were fixing a sewer pipe in Samora Machel on Tuesday.
The bullet narrowly missed his spine, but he now needs to have emergency surgery.
The teenagers stole their wallets and cellphones.
The mayoral committee member for water and sanitation, Xanthea Limberg, condemned the attack.
“It is unconscionable to target staff who are on-site going about their public service duties, and the City will do everything in its power to assist the SAPS in its efforts to bring the guilty parties to book.”
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Limberg said teams were withdrawn from Samora Machel for the safety of staff, and requested patience from residents with service calls.
She asked that anybody with information regarding the attack should report it to the police.
Twenty-five sewage pump stations have been vandalised or impacted by theft, with repairs, operating costs and minimising sewer flows costing the City around R30 million.
Most of the incidents happened in December 2020.
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City officials ranging from repair to emergency services are increasingly coming under attack.
On Saturday night, the fire and rescue services had to withdraw from Delft after being manhandled by residents when they tried to extinguish a shack fire.
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