According to the municipal spokesperson, Gino Alberts, three residential areas in the municipality have been left without power following the vandalism of electrical poles.

He says this is the second time recently that its infrastructure had been vandalised by unknown criminals in that area. Alberts says money that was supposed to be used for service delivery now has to be diverted to deal with and restore electricity in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, in August 2022, Alberts revealed that since the beginning of the year, cables worth over R1,9 million were stolen, plunging many houses and businesses into darkness for many days.

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“These onslaughts on municipal infrastructure deprive residents of their constitutional right to access basic services such as electricity and water. Our electrical department is on-site and is working very hard to restore electricity and water.

"A criminal case has been opened with the police. We would like to appeal to residents to assist the municipality by reporting any person they see tampering with municipal infrastructure to the police."

They can also call the Metsimahalo Emergency number: (016) 976 0945; Metsimahalo Public Safety: 076 925 9177; SAPS 10111, Alberts adds.

Alberts had previously mentioned that most of the incidents allegedly happens during the night and in some cases, the perpetrators were not found the cable theft not only costs the municipality millions in lost revenue but it also inconveniences customers and businesses, especially small businesses.

Recently, Auditor-General, Tsakani Maluleke, announced that municipalities across the province have gone backwards in meeting project deadlines for infrastructure projects.

In her report, she said in 2016-17, only 10% did not meet project deadlines, but this had increased to 60% in 2020-21. “For example, at Metsimaholo, the project for installing 4 000 sewerage connections was delayed by almost two years due to poor planning. During the course of the project, additional houses needing sewerage connections were also identified and additional time was needed for repair,” she added.

OFM News