Several City Power workers went on an unprotected strike recently, which left numerous residents in suburbs across the city without power for days.
It is believed that workers deliberately tempered with the power grid.
“There are firm indications that power outages at a number of areas within the CoJ may have been the result of criminal acts by certain individuals, who may be linked to the unprotected work stoppage at City Power.
“There are definitive indications at one of the areas which confirms tampering with the substation. During the process of restoring power at various affected areas, City Power management found evidence which indicated the deliberate switching off of electrical networks and this is considered as sabotage to the power network,” said Mr Fred Mokoko, the spokesperson for the executive mayor, Clr Parks Tau.
He added that senior management in the city’s infrastructure utilities also received threats to their lives. “This suggests the outages may have been a deliberate act,” said Mr Mokoko.
CoJ is working with the SAPS, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), the State Security Agency and the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU).
“We are confident our law-enforcement agencies will be able to apprehend those responsible and take the appropriate action.
“The city is aware of the impact the power outages have had on residents and businesses and we apologise for the inconvenience. It was for this reason a considerable number of employees, including City Power management, worked around the clock to restore power at the affected areas.
“To those implicated in criminal acts during these outages, we want to convey a strong warning to them that we will not tolerate their actions. In a democracy, there are various platforms for people to channel their grievances. We hope our employees who have grievances will also use these channels,” said Mr Mokoko.
