Alberton North street lights have been declared a hot-list item in terms of vandalism and theft.
This is according to Ward 37 councillor Tiaan Kotzé, who condemned the vandalism of council-owned property.
In addition to vandalised street lights in Alberton North, he warned against vandalism of street-name poles.
One such pole was dug up at the corner of Andries Pretorius Street and Fourth Avenue. The pole was found lying not far from the area it was originally erected, with the board carrying the street name cut off.
Kotzé confirmed to the RECORD that this was not the first time such a case was brought to his attention.
“In one of the streets here in Alberton North there has been theft of stop signs and street-name poles. This is not new and it’s tragic. The fact that it now occurs during the day is a worrying concern. However, I will forward this matter to the roads department,” he said.
He also recalled that just recently a man was spotted stealing copper cables from street lights in Florentia.
“Theft of cables in street lights in the area is a big issue and the lack of working street lights promotes the trend of criminal activities. A street, for example, can be targeted and a street light vandalised for a criminal activity to happen,” he said.
According to Kotzé, this for the City of Ekurhuleni can only mean more expenditure and also takes them away from doing normal maintenance.
The City has assured the RECORD that it will look into the matter.
