The Democratic Alliance has called on Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to intensify the crackdown on cable theft and vandalism.
The party said in a statement the major cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria have been severely affected by theft and vandalism, often plunged into complete darkness.
The party also urged Lesufi to arrange protection for technicians as they are often attacked while trying to restore power.
“There are unconfirmed reports that City Power technicians have been shot underground by illegal miners while working to fix and restore power which has resulted in delays in restoring power. The armed illegal miners operating in the tunnels under the Johannesburg CBD are causing severe damage to infrastructure,” said Crezane Bosch, the DA’s community safety spokesperson in Gauteng.
She said both business and government have suffered severely as a result of the scourge with the frequency of disruptions increasing.
” This disruption affects various malls and communities in the southern region of Tshwane and impacts a major arterial road leading to N14 and Johannesburg. This outage comes during Ramadan, when many families have purchased food in advance for the month, leaving their supplies at risk of spoilage. Klerksoord Industrial Area in northern Tshwane also faced a power loss this morning due to cable theft. This situation is severely disrupting essential services for businesses and government institutions in the area, including the Home Affairs Offices, Municipal Courts, TMPD, and Licensing Offices, all of which have been forced to suspend operations for the community again,” said Bosch.
Bosch said measures announced by Lesufi in his recent state of the province address were clearly enough as vandalism and theft of critical infrastructure continues. She said the premier must approach the ministry of police for assistance before the province’s economy collapses.
“Where was this reaction unit when the City Power technicians were attacked, when will these tech logs be installed? How many lives should be threatened or lost due to illegal miners who are vandalising our infrastructure and stealing our resources? Failure to address cable theft, vandalism of infrastructure and illegal mining will result in investors and businesses moving away from Gauteng. The only solution to curb illegal mining and protect our infrastructure from theft and vandalism is adopting the DA’s Anti-Extortion Plan launched in 2024.
“Premier Lesufi must engage his national counterpart, Minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, to establish a centralised intelligence gathering and analysis hub to enable SAPS to track extortion networks, anticipate threats and dismantle criminal operations from the top down. Target the kingpins, the leaders of the operations and the officials enabling these operations. Strengthen the criminal justice system to restore public confidence and prosecution of cases to ensure justice is served,” she said adding that the problem is affecting the entire Gauteng and that unless there’s a serious crackdown on criminal gangs including extortion mafias, the province’s economy will collapse and hopes of any new investment fade.