LOCAL
As if rolling black outs weren’t enough, communities across the Cape Flats continue to be left in the dark for extended periods due to ongoing vandalism and theft of infrastructure. According to the City of Cape Town (COCT) between May and August, its electricity teams received more than 3,000 streetlight service requests for Mitchells Plain alone.
Community activist in the area, Shahiem Van Nelson said cable theft continues to negatively affect the needs of residents.
“The darkness in the area perpetuates criminality. Robberies, burglaries, hijackings and gangsterism all see an uptick when there is cable theft in the area. Businesses are also negatively affected by the loss of power. Apart from the safety aspect it causes a financial strain too,” explained Van Nelson.
City teams, so far, have attended to over 1,500 requests.
However, the city recorded a whopping 50,000 electricity service requests for the month of June alone.
VOC
