Mitchells Plain, and Philippi district worst affected i.t.o electricity vandalism and illegal connections

Just over 200 incidents of electricity vandalism and illegal connections, were recorded by the City of Cape Town in the third quarter of 2023.

According to the municipality, Mitchells Plain and Philippi district was the worst affected district with 85 recorded incidents. It added that the most vandalism and electricity theft incidents occurred in September 2023, with 81 recorded for Area South, 27 for Area North and 18 incidents for Area East.

PHOTO - CoCT: Vandalism incident at the Town Centre, Mitchell's Plain

‘’While we are seeing a decrease in vandalism incidents in many areas, it is alarming to note the increase of vandalism in Area South, particularly the Mitchells Plain district. The Mitchells Plain district not only includes areas within Mitchells Plain but areas outside of the region such as Lotus River, Grassy Park and Philippi. All these areas are hotspots for vandalism and illegal connections,’’ said Beverley van Reenen, Mayoral Committee Member for Energy.

‘’In the Muizenberg, Mowbray, Helderberg, Bloemhof and Atlantis districts the City recorded less than five incidents each for these areas in the last three months. In previous years, Atlantis experienced many more incidents and we are glad to see our enforcement work paying off. Community support and reporting is assisting us greatly in clamping down on incidents. Every single call to the City and the South African Police Service helps,’’ she added.

The MMC said approximately R4 million has been spent on the repair and replacement of damaged infrastructure in the last three months, adding that many of the incidents are reoccurring where the same infrastructure is vandalised.

‘’In Philippi and the surrounding areas for example, we are seeing a number of these reoccurring incidents taking place. Our teams carry out regular illegal connections disconnections in the area and will continue to monitor hotspots,’’ said van Reenen.

She added that theft and vandalism of streetlight infrastructure in all hotspot areas, remains a concern.

‘’The City is responsible for 245 000 streetlights in the metro and it is through the City’s enforcement agencies doing everything possible within our mandate to address theft and vandalism of streetlight infrastructure in all hotspot areas.’’

‘’Vandalism hotspots are monitored as far as possible. Help us keep the lights on by reporting all suspicious behaviour near our infrastructure. Single streetlight outages or faults are attended to within 14 days and faults affecting multiple streetlights are attended to within 48 hours, where possible,’’ added Beverley van Reenen, Mayoral Committee Member for Energy.

PHOTO: Mitchum George

The MMC encouraged residents to report suspicious activity to 0800 11 00 77. A R5 000 reward is offered to tip offs that lead to arrests.

 

Done By: Mitchum George