​These attacks have an impact on services and thus on our residents and communities. Contractors are also becoming increasingly reluctant to tender for work in some parts of the metro due to the safety concerns.
 
City management is looking at the situation and investigating any possible solutions such as enhanced security escorts, however, the safety of City staff and contractors who are servicing our communities through basic service provision remains of utmost consideration and electricity services will not be rendered to some areas until it is deemed safe enough to do so and if law enforcement or security escorts are available.
 
‘Increasingly, we are hearing of accounts of extreme violence and attacks, particularly also on female City staff members. City staff are often traumatised. It really is unacceptable and it is our communities that suffer the most when the City makes decisions to temporarily withdraw services and staff from an area. In many of our more volatile areas, City electricity teams can only do their work if they are accompanied by law enforcement teams and law enforcement agencies also have other work to attend to. We further absolutely condemn the trend where syndicates and some sections of a community intimate and threaten residents who wish to make legal electricity purchases as opposed to paying money to criminals charging for illegal connections.
 
‘The spike in unlawful occupations has also led to an increase in illegal electricity connections in some areas. This often overloads the system and leads to prolonged outages for neighbouring communities as electrical infrastructure is damaged. Prior to the most recent spate of unlawful occupations, almost 100% of City-supplied informal settlement areas were connected to electricity. We encourage our communities to support the City and to take ownership of community infrastructure that is repeatedly damaged by criminals or protest action. Repeatedly fixing the same vandalised or damaged infrastructure is definitely not sustainable, especially amid budget cuts due to the national economic pressure,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy and Climate Change, Councillor Phindile Maxiti.
 
Anonymous tip-offs welcomed:
Residents can give anonymous tip offs if they are aware of illegal activity that is taking place; that has happened or is still to happen. Please call 112 from a cell phone (toll free) and 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 for emergencies
 
 
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