Msunduzi Municipality has seen a surge in vandalism and theft targeting critical traffic light infrastructure.
It said in a press statement that recent incidents have affected a number of intersections where traffic lights are currently inoperative due to the theft of tyco eclipse traffic controllers. They are being stolen and resold.
“The theft and vandalism of traffic lights is a serious problem which puts the lives of road users at risk,” said the statement.
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The affected intersections are Burger/West Street, Pine/Hoosen Haffejee Street, Hoosen Haffejee/Retief Street, Peter Kerchhoff/Church Street and Retief/Boom Street.
The municipality said it is working on fixing the problem.
The roads and transportation teams are working to repair the damaged traffic lights in order to ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians. Traffic officers have been deployed to man and control traffic during peak hours. The municipality would like to apologise to the residents for the inconvenience caused and further urges all motorists to treat faulty traffic signalled intersections as multi-way stops to avoid accidents and loss of life.
It added that the vandalism is taking a deep toll on the pockets of the municipality.
“The vandalism and theft of the infrastructure comes at a great financial cost to the municipality; approximately R1,5 million is spent annually replacing the same infrastructure, which should be directed at providing service delivery to the community of Msunduzi. A criminal case of sabotage has been opened and the municipality hopes to see arrests,” said the statement.
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The municipality has appealed to the community to partner in the fight against vandalism and theft of the infrastructure and to end such criminality, by reporting it to the law enforcement agencies.