Ladysmith KZN – The Ladysmith Gazette has received numerous complaints from concerned ratepayers regarding streetlights in and around town.

The two issues at hand are that in some streets, lights burn day and night, while in other streets, the lights don’t come on at all. A pensioner called in to report that many streetlights in the Egerton area are on 24/7.

The elderly man’s burning question is: Who is footing the bill for these streetlights that are on double the time they are supposed to be? He further asks: Will the municipality just increase the rates so that the poor ratepayers end up paying for their (municipality’s) ineptitude?

He added that with Eskom warning everyone to save electricity, how can our very own municipality not bother to do their bit?

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, some people live in roads where the streetlights don’t come on, period.

These residents say that ‘no streetlights at night’ poses a great risk in terms of vulnerability to crime. Homeowners fear becoming easy targets for opportunistic criminals who pounce during the hours of darkness when there is no light to illuminate their ‘evil deeds’.

So, the streetlight issue is really a double-edged sword – with some lights being on all the time and others none of the time. Alfred Duma Local Municipality was approached for comment on the issue last week, but have failed to respond as yet.