A Tshwane electricity switching team was recently attacked and its work vehicle was set on fire while carrying out repair work to a faulty cable next to Atteridgeville primary substation.

According to metro spokesperson Selby Bokaba, an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the attack and bring those responsible to justice.

Bokaba says the switching team was attacked and the bakkie was burnt on the corner of Citron Drive and Church Street.

“The team was repairing a faulty cable next to Atteridgeville primary substation when they were pounced upon by criminals,” Bokaba says.

Fortunately, the two employees were not physically harmed, he adds.

Bokaba says damaging or destroying city property is a huge blow to service delivery.

“Destroying city assets has a huge impact on service delivery as insurance settlement(s) often take more than 12 months to settle and, in the meantime, the teams will be short of a vehicle or vehicles.”

Bokaba explains that this means that turnaround times to service interruptions are impacted adversely.

The city reiterates its call to law enforcement to throw the book at the criminals who are destroying the city’s assets.

Bokaba says the city is on record denouncing these criminal acts.

“These acts have nothing to do with a labour dispute and the acts are committed by criminals who have no interest in the well-being of the property that belongs to the people of Tshwane,” he adds.

The attack on the electricity switching teams comes after three buses belonging to Tshwane Bus Services were pelted with stones and left with cracked and damaged windscreens last week.

Buses were damaged in Belle Ombre, Pretoria North, and another outside the C De Wet Bus Depot in the Pretoria CBD just after resuming operation after two months’ discontinuation.

Tshwane Electricity Switching Team attacked &
vehicles set on fire: north of Pretoria. @CityTshwane @CilliersB pic.twitter.com/CPZzfFZITi

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) October 29, 2023