A big part of the Westonaria Borwa Mega Project has been without streetlights since the project was started in 2015.
Seth Sekhokho, DA PR councillor for Ward 26, said that these circumstances make the residents easy targets for criminals.
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“Women get raped on their way home from work and people get robbed of their cellphones daily. Most parts of this area are pitch dark at night and you can’t see a thing outside your home. Vehicles also get stolen regularly and the houses that don’t have burglary bars are sitting ducks,” he said.
Daniel Lelhake, a resident, said that he is too scared to leave his house after sunset.
“I’m an old man and I can’t defend myself. Without streetlights, criminals roam the streets throughout the night. I have reported the problem many times but the municipality hasn’t even tried to fix the lights.”
Sekhokho said that he had raised his concerns about these streetlights during IDP meetings and had reported the matter to the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) multiple times. According to him, the municipality said that the problem is that the circuit breakers get stolen but many streetlights don’t even have bulbs or fittings for a bulb.
“People moved into the development in 2015 and most street lights have never worked. There are no streetlights at any of the entrances to the area and Mandela Street, one of the main roads, only has three working streetlights. Having working streetlights is important for the safety of the residents,” Sekhokho said.
He also raised his concerns regarding the out of order streetlights in Van Riebeeck Street in Westonaria.
“It’s a busy street, with a lot of traffic and pedestrians using it at night. Their lives are at risk if there are no streetlights.”
The Herald approached the RWCLM for comment and is still waiting for their response.
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