Two security guards were held at gunpoint by a gang armed with high-calibre assault rifles at Cydna substation in Norwood.
According to MMC of Environment and Infrastructure Services Department Michael Sun, the incident occurred on March 30 at about 04:00.
Sun reported that after overpowering the security guards, the gang made off with several hundred kilograms of underground copper cabling, using their 4×4 vehicles to rip this critical infrastructure from the ground.
“This is starting to show all the signs of criminal groups that are well resourced and organised. It is no longer just theft but robbery on a grand scale,” said Sun.
He added that since July last year to date, 1 456 cases of vandalism and cable theft have been reported to City Power. This cost the utility R24m in damages and repairs. Sun said these incidents occurred almost on a daily basis at substations and other infrastructure points around Johannesburg.
The situation was exacerbated by the fact that most of the city’s cable servitudes passed through open fields, making them vulnerable to theft. Hotspots included Alexandra, Ennerdale, Roodepoort and many more.
“We will be beefing up security at hotspots and ensuring we have more personnel at all our substations. We are also installing CCTV systems to act as an early warning system.
“But the simple fact is that if we don’t have an urgent intervention from the South African Police Service [SAPS] on this issue, it will remain a critical challenge to providing reliable electricity to Johannesburg residents. “It is only SAPS that can investigate these criminals and the National Prosecuting Authority that can prosecute them.”
Cable theft is responsible for most outages in the city, and caused major disruptions to the Johannesburg energy grid. The MMC said the community could play a key role in stamping out cable theft and robberies. He called upon all residents to play their part in reporting all suspicious behaviour in or around the city’s electricity infrastructure, to authorities.
“With the absence of these enforcement powers, we will have to rely on our own already stretched capacity and are thus calling on all community members to act with the City too. If you see something suspicious, report it immediately.”
Norwood Police Station was contacted for comment and would respond in due course.
Share your comments on Facebook @RK_Gazette
ALSO READ:
-
-
-
-
