Report illegal connections, cable theft

Ms Bernadette Wentzel, from the Cleveland Community Police Forum’s Sector 3, said several parts of Malvern were recently left without power.

“The first was the general power failure on June 4. Power was restored the next day. The second power outage occurred on June 6. Power was only restored on June 9. Then on June 10, residents were informed that the ‘error would probably only be corrected’ on June 12,” said Ms Wentzel.

While electricity usage increases over winter due to the cold, Ms Wentzel said there are other factors negatively impacting on the power grid in Malvern.

“The first is the obvious cable theft, the second is illegal connections and the third is the infringement on building bylaws in the area. The reason one needs to obtain permission from the town planning department when building dwellings is to ensure the city’s infrastructure can maintain the additional power output,” said Ms Wentzel.

She said all these factors are inconsiderate to law-abiding citizens, especially for newborn babies and the aged.

During his budget speech recently, Clr Geoffrey Makhubo, the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance in the city, said several of the power outages recently experienced were due to theft and vandalism.

To address this, the city is investing in a comprehensive system to deal with the problems. This includes the implementation of alarm monitoring devices.

Ms Wentzel urged residents to report the theft of cables, illegal connections and other bylaw infringements to the authorities or to her.

Ms Wentzel can be contacted on 071 514 2224.

@JoziReporter