Metro needs help to protect infrastructure from vandalism

“Vandalism of the electricity infrastructure in Pretoria east is out of control and the metro on its own does not have the capacity to bring it under control,” said councillor Themba Fosi, DA spokesperson on utility services.

He referred to an incident on Friday evening when three men tried vandalising the Faerie Glen Substation on Manitoba Avenue.

Fosi welcomed the arrest of three suspects attempting to vandalise the Faerie Glen substation.

They were spotted by security guards and arrested.

“Private security companies and the public have taken increasing responsibility to fight this vandalism even though it is not their role. But what can they do? The metro police on their own simply do not have the capacity to guard the electricity infrastructure,” said Fosi.

“This vandalism of electricity infrastructure is one of the major causes of prolonged and persistent power outages. One case in point is the over 720m cable that was stolen a week ago in Councillor Siobhan Muller’s Ward (82), which, by assessment, was a carefully planned theft under the Garsfontein Road and N1 interchange bridge,” said Fosi.

He pointed out that these attacks also deplete the city maintenance budget.

“Every rand spent on repair is one not spent on maintenance. And so assets deteriorate all the more. We cannot afford to go on with this wastefulness,” said Fosi.

To him, the metro must take every possible step to close the enormous security gap at service installations.

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Malcolm de Klerk, standing in for councillor Christo van den Heever, said that metro security alone is no guarantee that infrastructure will be safe.

“In this war against vandalism, we do not only need warm bodies doing their job – we need technology. With cameras we can achieve much more but for that, the metro does not have money. We will need to take hands with private companies to achieve such technological safety goals,” said De Klerk.

He said earlier this month a brand new pump station, which councillor Shane Maas said would relieve constant water interruptions in Waterkloof and its surrounds was vandalised.

“Every time extensive damage is done to substations, it weakens the overall reticulation network. The same is true of water and sanitation installations,” said De Klerk.

To him, the model of simply deploying stationary guards at metro infrastructure is not only ineffective it is also expensive.

“It is critical that technology, including basics such as cameras, motion detectors and control rooms be used as is the norm in the private sector,” said De Klerk.

According to him under former mayor Cilliers Brink, the DA and coalition partners commissioned a study of the city’s security needs with a view to implementing private sector practices in securing, especially, electricity substations and other key points.

One possible solution was to contract local security companies that already have a footprint in the community, and whose reputation can be validated, to safeguard municipal infrastructure.

“While such a solution is bound to be opposed by security companies offering guarding services to municipalities, the truth is that only a fraction of service installations are secured at present. Moreover, the metro receives constant complaints that these security companies do not pay their guards,” said De Klerk.

He confirmed that the DA will be writing to the municipal administration to ask if the security study has been completed, and if so, when the commendations will be implemented.

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