Bad public lighting in the City of Tshwane threatens the safety of communities who become vulnerable to criminals in areas where street lights are not working.
Mayor Cilliers Brink conceded this week that the municipality was grappling with the problem of public lighting as a result of electricity infrastructure being vandalised and stolen.
Opposition parties like the ANC and EFF have constantly raised concerns about the street lights that are out in many parts of the municipality, especially in townships where they are often neglected and not repaired.
EFF regional leader, Obakeng Ramabodu, previously lamented that crime was on the rise at Fountains Circle, robots along Nelson Mandela Drive and Pretorius Street, as well as at Wonderpark robots, Transfer in Soshanguve, Morula Complex, Bronkhorstspruit, Dr George Mukhari hospital and Sunnyside, because the areas have been left in the dark.
The same sentiment was shared by the ANC, which said failure to fix street lights and traffic lights was one of the serious problems in the City.
Brink saw first-hand that many of the street lights were not working in Mamelodi during his visit to the township this week.
“The City of Tshwane is one of the few cities that do not have a public lighting team,” he said.
He explained that the same people responsible for fixing the overhead electric lines were also deployed to attend to public lighting.
“We are going to establish a dedicated public lighting team and we are going to make sure that we get a far better value for money out of the street lights contract,” he said.
Brink added that the City wanted to explore the installation of solar street lights as one of the solutions to the problem.
“We want to pilot a few solar street lights. And as much as people would say solar street lights can be stolen, what we find in practice is that electricity supply to street lights is very often stripped and to replace a solar street light is far more effective than trying to replace the entire electricity infrastructure supporting street lights,” he said.
He confirmed that public lighting was a major priority to the municipality.
“It is not just about orderliness; it is about road safety and the safety of communities. If you get home and it is dark, obviously it creates opportunities for criminals,” he said.
Recently, the City also sounded alarm about wanton acts of vandalism targeting municipal infrastructure such as water and electricity networks.
Cable theft and vandalism, according to the City’s media statement, are a major financial burden on the City’s already stretched budget.
Municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said: “With the autumn season upon us, the impact of power and water outages that are as a result of sabotage, spell devastation for residents who are likely to experience electricity and water supply interruptions for extended periods; hence the importance of proactively protecting the network, assets and amenities of the City.”
RAPULA MOATSHE
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za