Publications
Partners
POLICE are closing in on the perpetrators who sabotaged the electricity supply to sections of Jeffreys Bay last week.
The communities of Ocean View, Tokyo Sexwale and Pellsrus were left without electricity on Tuesday and Wednesday nights after the power to the areas was switched off illegally at the substation.
Kouga Executive Mayor Horatio Hendricks said the municipality had opened a case of malicious damage to infrastructure and that detectives were hot on the trail of the perpetrators.
“Such lawlessness will not be tolerated. We cannot allow the actions of a few to hurt thousands of law-abiding citizens.”
He said it is believed that the sabotage was prompted by the municipality cutting illegal electricity connections at Ocean View last week. “The internal services for the RDP housing project at Ocean View are currently being put in place. The contractor could not proceed with the work because of illegal wires crisscrossing the area, hence the disconnections had to be dealt with as a matter of urgency.”
He said many households from the informal settlement at Ocean View had been relocated to a transit site while work on the RDP housing project was underway.
“More than 150 households, who qualify for houses in the RDP project, have already moved to the transit site. The site is serviced with water standpipes and toilets. The municipality will also be electrifying this area.
“The challenge is those people who do not qualify. Some, for example, already own an RDP house or property outside Jeffreys Bay and, therefore, do not qualify for another house.”
He said the situation remained tense and pleaded with legal electricity users from the affected area not to take matters into their own hands.
“The municipality is working closely with the police to prevent the sabotage from recurring and to bring the perpetrators to book.”
Anyone with information in this regard, is asked to contact Sergeant Bonase at the Jeffreys Bay Detective Branch at 042 200 6600.
