Community safety a priority in North during blackouts

Community safety during load-shedding and cable theft causing power outages are a priority for ward councillors in the north of Pretoria.

“Cable theft is responsible for a lot of power outages in the area, but load-shedding itself causes problems,” said DA councillor of ward 98, Sipho Mtakati.

“I work with the CPF and we found that criminal activity increases during load-shedding as well as in poorly lit areas in general,” Mtakati.

“We often experience power outages just after we have had load-shedding. I’ve been told by the Tshwane metro’s electrical department that the system gets overloaded when the power goes back on after load-shedding.”

She said the reason was that residents plugged in too many electrical appliances once the power went back on.

“Residents are thus requested to not plug in all appliances at once.

“This problem keeps us busy each day, but compliments to the municipal task teams that always respond swiftly.”

Previously the councillor of ward 4, Mtakati has now been representing ward 98 for the past five months.

“I care about community safety and that is why I take part in patrolling. I have been a first responder for the past eight years.”

“We focus on visibility and combatting crime in general.”

Residents from Pretoria North also complain about “bonus load-shedding” that is too long and way too regular for their liking.

DA-councillor of ward 2, Yolanda Duvenage, confirmed that “cables get stolen each time we have load-shedding”.

“I can also confirm that we have found that crime increases during load-shedding.”

ALSO READ: Combined effort by police and CPF lead to successful cable theft arrest

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram