Investigate copper dealers
THE theft of metal and copper is getting out of hand.
There seems to be no plan to bring the thieves to book.
If one drives from Woodview, in Phoenix, to Gateway and to Durban North, the magnitude of the theft is soon realised. There are patches of darkness when you drive at night.
In areas such as Woodview, the poles that hold up street lights have been sawed off.
The poles are lying on the overgrown grass.
The copper has been stripped for a few rand, while thousands of taxpayers and ratepayers have to bear the inconvenience of no street lights, especially in Durban.
Recent statistics singled out Durban as the fifth most dangerous city in the world to live in.
As one drives from Phoenix to Gateway or vice versa, some light poles have collapsed after their screws were loosened by thieves wanting to gain access to the copper cables.
The metal barriers erected on the walls separating the traffic have also been damaged due to the impact of the metal poles hitting them.
The hanging street light poles are an eyesore.
It is indicative of a municipality that is devoid of any strategy to curb this sort of vandalism or sabotage.
The vandalism or sabotage will continue as long as the demand for copper and metal exists.
Unscrupulous dealers who buy the stolen copper must be investigated and, if found guilty, their trading licences need to be terminated.
The investigating team needs to further track and trace the sellers with information from the dealers to establish if a syndicate is operational.
There must be intervention mechanisms to curb the vandalism. If left unattended, many roads that have lighting will be in darkness. This will result in danger to road users. No lighting coupled with potholes is a recipe for disaster.
Poor management, incompetence, the lack of skills, malfeasance and corruption are determining factors impacting poor service delivery. The municipality has an obligation to maintain the infrastructure of the city. This includes maintenance of the street lighting system.