- The City of Cape Town is offering a R5 000 reward for information about the tampering, theft or vandalism of essential electricity infrastructure.
- This comes after the electricity infrastructure along Jakes Gerwel Drive was vandalised and stolen, leaving the City with a R1.6 million bill.
- A total of 80 individual streetlights were damaged including more than 160 light fittings along the stretch of road in the latest incident of vandalism.
The City of Cape Town is offering a R5 000 reward to residents who report tampering, theft and vandalism of essential electricity infrastructure - and which leads to the arrest of perpetrators.
In recent weeks, criminals have targeted complete street light units along Jakes Gerwel Drive, leaving the City with a bill of R1.6 million to replace the stolen infrastructure.
"Along Jakes Gerwel Drive in recent weeks, criminals have not only been stealing the complete street light units, but also the wiring in the lamps. These actions are severely impacting the service to residents in the surrounding areas and road users," said the City's mayoral committee member for energy and climate change, councillor Phindile Maxiti.
Residents have been urged to help bring an end to the vandalism and theft by reporting any suspicious activities to the police or the City.
"In recent weeks, criminals and criminal syndicates have managed to steal complete electricity street light units, some as high as 11 metres. Security patrols will continue so that infrastructure can be protected," he added.
The City said it was not possible to have a dedicated presence at the hotspots.
"These acts are well organised and cannot take place without anyone noticing. The street lights in Jakes Gerwel Drive are more than 11 meters high and it would require specialised equipment to commit these crimes."
Patrols
The City had beefed up security patrols to protect infrastructure and to monitor hotspots.
"We cannot allow this to continue. We will continue to conduct patrols on Jakes Gerwel Drive and in the other identified hotspot areas around the metro, as our resources allow," Maxiti said.
"A total of 80 individual streetlights were damaged including more than 160 light fittings along this stretch in the latest incident and it will cost the City R1.6 million to repair."
The City said it was offering a reward of R5 000 to anyone who provided information that could lead to the arrest and confiscation of stolen or illegal property.
"This reward is also applicable to information leading to the arrest of people vandalising, damaging or stealing electricity infrastructure or installing illegal connections."