Theft and vandalism of electrical infrastructure call for heightened community vigilance

Supplied

Five incidents of theft and vandalism were reported to the Sol Plaatje Municipality Electrical Department over the weekend. The overall asset loss still has to be established. One incident resulted in an outage.

• Power supply was restored in Roodepan in the early hours of this morning amid the vandalism of a mini-substation at Bizzet Street. The main neutral cable was cut and had to be repaired.
• A 25-meter service cable was stolen at 17th Street, Homelite Extension.

In what appears to be an area-based attack on the electrical assets; three incidents of theft and vandalism occurred within the same area;

• Meter kiosk vandalised – breaker and wires stolen – at Lekhela Street, Galeshewe.
• Meter kiosk vandalised in Methodist Street, Galeshewe; and
• A cable was stolen from a pole in Sebenya Street

Recap: Theft and vandalism of electrical infrastructure; by the end of the 2024-2025 financial year (end June 2025), the municipality had suffered losses of over R6 million.

Equally important to note:

1. When theft and vandalism are orchestrated, supply restoration takes longer, and
2. The municipality is taking a strain in having to shift funds meant to install new infrastructure towards the repair and replacement of stolen and vandalised assets.

Source: Thabo Mothibi, Communications Unit, Sol Plaatje Municipality.