Lekwa Local Municipality has noted with serious concern the continued vandalism and unlawful interference with municipal infrastructure by the members of the community.
With the cold winter weather resulting in increased electricity demand, the municipality has observed incidents where individuals force open electricity substations and attempt to switch the power back on themselves after a substation has tripped. This practice is extremely dangerous and places both the individuals involved and surrounding community members at risk.
Electricity substations contain high-voltage equipment that should only be operated by trained and authorised municipal technicians. Any unauthorised access to these facilities can result in severe injuries, electrocution, or even loss of life. In addition, leaving substations open makes them vulnerable to theft, vandalism, and damage to critical electrical equipment.
When municipal infrastructure is damaged or equipment is stolen, the municipality is required to spend significant funds on repairs and replacements. These unplanned expenses place additional pressure on municipal resources and may affect the municipality’s ability to provide services efficiently. Furthermore, vandalism often leads to prolonged power outages, causing inconvenience to the community.
Executive Mayor, Sifiso Mngemezulu, has called on residents to work together with the municipality in safeguarding public infrastructure.
“We appeal to community members to report electricity faults, outages, and other service-related issues to the municipality instead of attempting to resolve them on their own. Tampering with municipal infrastructure is a criminal offence and poses a serious danger to public safety. Anyone found interfering with municipal infrastructure may face legal consequences. We also encourage residents to report any suspicious activities involving municipal infrastructure to the nearest police station,” said Executive Mayor Mngemezulu.
The municipality urges all residents to play their part in protecting public infrastructure, as these assets belong to the entire community and are essential for the delivery of reliable services.