Nearly a month after more than 200 metres of electricity cabling was removed from the Malacca Road Informal Settlement, police again had their hands full trying to rid the settlement of the stolen loot.
Yesterday, Greenwood Park SAPS, together with the eThekwini Municipality’s Electricity Department, removed several metres of stolen cabling and illegal electricity connections from the informal settlement.
Yesterday’s raid comes just 28 days after authorities descended on the settlement in search of illegal cabling. At the time, the municipality’s electricity department, flanked by security personnel, removed a number of illegal connections.
According to eThekwini Mayor, Councillor James Nxumalo, illegal connections cost the the city R240-million per year – this includes damage to infrastructure.
Robin Candy of the Greenwood Park SAPS said that this number was a good reason for authorities to curb the theft of electricity.
“Up to now the authorities have not taken this matter seriously, as most informal settlements have illegal electricity connections,” he said.
Ward councillor, Heinz de Boer, said illegal connections are an ongoing problem, but the department has now earmarked the settlement for ongoing raids to curb the problem.
