DA belittles administrators by-law enforcement centre in Tshwane

The centre that was announced a week ago, is meant to create a platform for residents to report illegal land and building invasions as well as illegal electricity connections.

DA MP Michael Shackleton said Mahaye offered residents the standard Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) number which he said was not a viable solution.

“The centre, which is supposedly the brainchild of the team of administrators, is not a new centre,” he said.

“Offering residents numbers to use to report such issues is not a viable solution, because within 15 minutes after the illegal electricity connections have been disconnected, they are illegally connected again.

“The residents of Tshwane need a sustainable solution to this crisis.”

Shackleton called for a specialised unit to be established to tackle the plague of illegal connections in Tshwane.

He said the TMPD number was always inundated with calls and would make it difficult for residents to get through to report their complaints.

“There is also no email address offered in order to be able to track these complaints,” he said.

“It is high time that the Tshwane administrators should consider tamper-free electricity boxes as a permanent solution to curb illegal electricity connections.”

He urged residents to request a reference number when reporting illegal electricity connections and illegal land and building invasions.

“The DA will continue to monitor the work of the so-called newly established by-law enforcement centre in order to determine whether it is yielding positive results,” he said.

Mahanye said the administrators would not be part of “political street fights” as this would not help solve the problem faced by the metro.

“We have noted the DA’s diatribe on the Tshwane metro’s recently established by-law enforcement centre,” she said.

“We have at all costs avoided being dragged into political street fights as this will not yield any fruits and will divert attention from the serious issues plaguing our city and the residents of Tshwane.

“We will, therefore, not respond to attacks by the DA, which we’ve noticed have now intensified.”

She said the solutions offered by the DA had been tested and implemented during their tenure in office.

She added that their doors as administrators were always open to discuss whatever solutions that could assist with the “chronic problem” the metro was facing.