City clamps down on illegal electricity connections; Oasis Farm residents claims this is unfair

Residents in Oasis Farm, Philippi, are threatening to take action against what they call, unfair actions, by the City of Cape Town. This after the municipality carried out an operation in the area on Wednesday, to crack down on illegal electricity connections.

PICTURE - Mitchum George

The City says illegal electricity connections exacerbate load shedding. Some of the community members say the City only visits the area to disconnect so-called illegal cables, but never does anything to address the needs in the area. A standoff escalated, leading to the use of stun grenades by law enforcement to disperse the crowd.

SUPPLIED: City of Cape Town 

The City said the informal settlement of Oasis Farm is situated on privately owned land, making it difficult to provide electricity in this area.

The municipality said a truckload of cable was removed and confiscated from a number of informal areas in Philippi and the surrounding areas. It said all confiscated material will be destroyed.

Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Beverley van Reenen, said they are monitoring all illegal connection and infrastructure vandalism hotspots and has zero tolerance toward illegal activity in all communities.

‘’The City is serious about protecting its critical infrastructure and the community, and we will not tolerate electricity vandalism which impacts on the supply to residents. Illegal connections leave whole communities in darkness due to the overloaded connections that trip. Exposed live wires are also unsafe – often placing the lives of children at risk.’’

‘’Philippi, Mitchells Plain and the surrounding areas have been hit hard due to electricity vandalism and this often causes prolonged electricity outages in these areas. The City wishes to be clear, we will not allow these acts of criminality to have an impact on the supply to residents,’’ added van Reenen.

 

Done By: Mitchum George