EKURHULENI LOSES ALMOST R3 MILLION A MONTH IN ILLEGAL CONNECTION, PERPETRATORS WARNED The City of Ekurhuleni is losing a whopping R36 million per annum due to illegal electricity connections. This translates to losses of about R2.8 Million to R4.9 Million which the Metro suffers per month. Ideally this is the money which could otherwise be channelled towards service delivery projects. In a bid to address this huge loss, the City has embarked on a campaign to educate the communities about the adverse effects of illegal connections. Member of Mayoral Committee for Water and Energy, Cllr Aubrey Nxumalo, accompanied by the Red Ant Security Services, members of the SAPS and EMPD visited the Dukathole Informal Settlement (Germiston) to educate residents on the financial and social costs that the illegal connection trade has on the Metro and its people. It is estimated that there are 14 000 illegal connections in the City and these are causing excessive strain on the local authority’s power supply. These connections pose a danger to innocent children and community members; destroy the economy and reduce work opportunities as well as destroy power infrastructure. “Infrastructure damage due to illegal connections is evident in areas like Kwa-Thema Ext 3 where an overhead transformer was replaced nine times in 2011,” he said. “Today we want to educate the community of Ekurhuleni about risks involved through illegal connections. At the same time we are preparing them for a major law enforcement operation that will follow within the next few weeks – focusing on disconnecting illegal connections. We need to develop our City and we cannot afford to lose millions of rands due to illegal connections, Cllr Nxumalo said. The MMC further said perpetrators of illegal connection have few weeks to get their houses in order because phase two will not only be the removal of illegally connected cables but offenders will be arrested. This education drive will continue throughout the city with the next one being in Thokoza tomorrow (Thursday - September 26). Others will follow in Edenvale, Springs, Benoni and Boksburg. The campaign started on Monday and among the places already visited is Ergo Informal Settlement in Brakpan.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 04:03:59 +0000
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