The Tshwane Metro has indicated that vandalism and theft of electricity, water, sanitation and other municipal infrastructure continue to disrupt essential services, placing an unnecessary financial burden on residents and diverting resources away from service delivery.

Mayoral spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said the metro takes the protection of public infrastructure seriously and has adopted a co-ordinated approach through its integrated asset protection strategy.

“The city’s response is guided by its integrated asset protection strategy, which provides a co-ordinated approach to protecting critical municipal infrastructure,” said Mgobozi.

He said the strategy brings together law enforcement, infrastructure security, technology, community partnerships and legal enforcement to prevent damage, strengthen investigations, recover costs from those responsible and restore services as quickly as possible.

“Protecting municipal assets is essential to ensuring reliable service delivery and safeguarding public funds,” Mgobozi added.

According to Mgobozi, the strategy strengthens collaboration between municipal departments, the TMPD, law enforcement agencies and community stakeholders to prevent and combat crimes against municipal infrastructure.

The TMPD Cable Theft Unit, established in 2016, investigates cable theft and vandalism and works closely with law enforcement agencies, CPFs and private security companies. Residents are encouraged to report any suspicious activity immediately.

Mgobozi said the metro has a dedicated Claims Management Unit within Group Legal and Secretariat Services that manages third-party claims relating to damage to municipal infrastructure.

Where municipal infrastructure is damaged during construction, including water and sewer infrastructure, the responsible contractor is held liable in terms of the metro’s wayleave requirements, applicable municipal by-laws and contractual obligations.

Mgobozi said that, in line with the strategy, a SAPS criminal case is opened for every reported incident of theft or vandalism affecting municipal infrastructure.

He said criminal investigations and prosecutions are critical to protecting municipal assets and deterring future offences.

Where theft occurs on a customer’s property, the customer is required to open a criminal case before the city can replace the stolen equipment. Once the required documentation has been received, city officials also register the relevant claim.

During the 2025/26 financial year, the Energy and Electricity Business Unit recorded almost 1 500 unplanned outages caused by criminal damage to municipal infrastructure.

Of these incidents, theft caused 976 outages, vandalism 325, and 170 were attributed to ‘other damage’.

According to Mgobozi, these figures demonstrate the continued need to implement the strategy, which focuses on preventing infrastructure-related crime, while improving the municipality’s ability to respond rapidly when incidents occur.

He said insurance claims are submitted where applicable, and a SAPS case number is mandatory before an insurance claim can be processed.

Its Claims Management Unit manages both internal and third-party claims relating to municipal infrastructure.

Contractors and other third parties responsible for damaging municipal infrastructure are held financially liable for repairs in terms of the city’s by-laws and contractual agreements.

Where applicable, the metro recovers these costs through performance guarantees, retention monies, direct invoicing or the third-party claims process. Contractors undertaking work outside city contracts are also required to register on the city’s wayleave system and remain responsible for any damage they cause.

The metro recovers the cost of repairing municipal infrastructure damaged in motor vehicle accidents through its Claims Management Unit, which pursues claims against responsible parties and their insurers.

According to Mgbozi, this approach supports the objectives of the strategy by ensuring that those responsible for damaging public infrastructure are held accountable while protecting public funds for service delivery.

The response follows concerns raised by the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), which alleged that criminal cases are not always opened with SAPS when municipal infrastructure is intentionally damaged, particularly in cases of cable theft.

The party argued that this may limit criminal investigations, with arrests often occurring only when suspects are caught in the act.

The FF+ further contends that failing to open criminal cases has financial implications for the metro because insurance claims often require an SAPS case number.

According to the party, this could leave the city paying insurance premiums while being unable to recover losses, forcing repair costs to be funded from the municipal budget and ultimately by ratepayers.

The party has also called for damage caused by vehicle collisions, accidents and construction activities to be handled consistently, with every incident formally recorded, responsible parties held accountable where applicable, and all available cost recovery and insurance claim processes pursued.

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