THE executive mayor of Ekurhuleni has warned that more innocent lives are going to be lost if illegal connections are allowed to continue in our communities.
Reacting to news of the death of 10-year-old Asandile Pati, who was electrocuted as a result of illegal connections in Thokoza at the weekend, Clr Mondli Gungubele said enough is enough.
“Every time we make an effort to remove illegal connections we get attacked by angry communities. The sad scenario is that the practice claims innocent lives on an annual basis yet communities still allow them to continue,” Gungubele points out.
“Our communities must understand that while this is a threat to the electricity grid in the country, our main issue as a municipality is the loss of innocent lives. You will know that not only do people get electrocuted, even those who rely on electricity-dependent life-support systems are endangered because of unplanned power outages forced by overloading the system.”
The mayor encourages parents to keep a watchful eye on their children as a deterrent to similar incidents.
Gungubele has sent his condolences to the family of little Asandile.
Asandile tripped and fell on illegal wiring while playing with his friends in Thokoza.
Meanwhile, Gungubele has appealed to local communities to support the city in its ongoing campaign against illegal connections. The campaign, which started two years ago and is targeting hotspots, has already resulted in illegal connections being removed in areas such as Thokoza, Dukathole and Langaville.
The City loses almost R200-million from the theft of electricity each year.
