Vandals to blame for power cuts
THE communities of Missionvale, Windvogel and Salt Lake have suffered serious inconvenience as the result of repeated power outages over this past weekend and for much of this week.
The frustration felt by the residents has turned to anger and protest action. We feel with the residents. Every local government is mandated by the constitution to ensure the provision of services to its residents in a sustainable manner.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality plans and budgets to do exactly that.
Three feeder cables supply power to the Missionvale, Salt Lake and Windvogel areas.
Last week, vandals took it upon themselves to destroy the supply carried by two of these feeders.
They placed tyres at the base of very strategic poles and burnt them.
The poles were burnt and subsequently collapsed. The cables were damaged. This vandalism left one single feed to a very wide area.
The supply has held during periods of low power usage, but at every peak time, the feed has become overloaded and has tripped.
Getting the power switched back on has been challenging during this time, when many staff members are refusing to work overtime.
Luckily we still have committed professionals who care enough about their communities to defy intimidation, and to come out and switch on.
On Tuesday night, the artisan who was prepared to assist had to be transported to the site in an armoured vehicle. But he did it.
On Wednesday the job of replacing the vandalised poles and cables was completed.
The three feeders are again in place.
Power supply is our responsibility.
We take it seriously, but we need the help of communities.
We simply cannot allow vandals, who care little about inconvenience suffered, to cause such a negative impact on the lives of so many residents.
Any suspicious behaviour near electrical infrastructure should be reported, to the local ward councillor or to the police.
Damage to municipal infrastructure is a criminal offence that carries a potential jail sentence of up to 30 years.
Any person in Salt Lake or Windvogel will understand exactly why the penalty is so high. We remain committed to improving service delivery.
Help us root out those criminal elements preventing the delivery you deserve.
Annette Lovemore, member of the mayoral committee for infrastructure, engineering, electricity and energy, Nelson Mandela Bay