City repairs thousands of vandalised streetlights in July

Mitchell’s Plain is one of the areas with the most vandalised streetlights.

This according to a press release from the City, which says Area East needed the highest number of streetlight-related repairs in July, along with Area South, which includes Mitchells Plain, Gugulethu, Wynberg and Muizenberg, which came a close second.

“The predominant cause of these faults is vandalism and theft-related damage to infrastructure, where electricity cables, transformers, streetlights and substations, along with other equipment located in our communities, continue to be targeted,” said Xanthea Limberg, Mayco Committee member for Energy. “Our energies and those of our law-enforcement teams continue to be visible in all hotspot areas, and we ask our residents to alert us to any suspicious activities in their neighbourhoods.”

Area South needed 3 192 streetlight repairs last month, while Area East had 4 119, the release said. This was out of 9 772 requests in the city and among nearly 35 000 electricity-related service requests.

Limberg said infrastructure vandals faced prosecution and imprisonment if caught.

“We will continue to support our law-enforcement agencies and SAPS in our fight against vandals and infrastructure thieves. Our Protect Your Power campaign will also continue to be rolled out in all communities, especially hotspot areas to drive awareness and ensure our customers know which channels to report the criminal acts of vandalism, theft and illegal connections to.”

The City maintains more than 245 000 streetlights across the metro, she said, adding that theft and vandalism remained the biggest drivers of streetlight and power outages.

Any suspicious activity can be reported to 021 480 7700.

You can also log a service request online at www.capetown.gov.za/servicerequests, call 086 0103 089 (select option 3), email power@capetown.gov.za or send an text message to 31220.