VIDEO: Mayor takes fight to Mamelodi electricity thieves
Tshwane metro mayor pounced on to the unsuspecting residents of Mamelodi who are connecting electricity illegally.
Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga has labelled illegal electricity connections in Mamelodi “a disaster waiting to happen”.
Msimanga had joined a metro police blitz in Mamelodi and Tshwane region 1 and 2 on Tuesday to remove the network of illegal connections, leaving many informal households that had connected illegally in the dark.
Msimanga said the city lost millions of rands every month to electricity theft through illegal connections.
“If a child dies because of the illegal connection in the area, the people blame the city of Tshwane,” said Msimanga.
But he reserved his fury for a spaza shop owner who had also connected illegally.
“This cannot continue happening, generating income from Tshwane electricity for free. We need to work together and stop all these illegal connections.”
Last August, Msimanga conducted a similar blitz in Mountain View informal settlement extensions 1 and 17 in Mamelodi East.
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He said the illegal connections in the settlement had resulted in rampant power interruptions in neighbouring areas.
The connections had been a bone of contention between formal homeowners from extension 1 and the informal settlement, leading to clashes between the two communities.
Msimanga encouraged residents to report illegal connections the metro police at 012 358 7095/6.
See video:
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