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Between 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2022 reported incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) and/or rape of women and/or children at the Ivory Park Police Station stood at 2849.

Similarly at the Tembisa Police Station the figure stood at 3085 and the total number of common assault cases against the elderly (people aged over 60) at Ivory Park stood at 46 for the same period.

In Rabie Ridge, the figure for GBV and/or rape of women and/or children over the same period stood at 1443. This while Eskom refuses to replace 37 transformers in Midrand, Ward 78 extensions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.

This was revealed in answers to questions I posed to the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, asking for crime statistics in Ward 78 where Eskom has stubbornly refused to replace 37 transformers since 2019, leaving both paying customers and those who have connected themselves to the grid illegally, completely in the dark.

Minister Cele claims the statistics are not reflective of Ward statistics but Ivory Park, Rabie Ridge and Tembisa Police Stations cover this Ward.

According to highly placed source in the Midrand Region A offices, repeated requests to City Power since 2019 have not been successful in resolving the transformer issue.

“Since 2019, City Power has been escalating queries for the replacement and reconnection of Eskom transformers in Ivory Park to enable City Power to reconnect streetlights and electrical connections, making it safer for women and children to get home when once the sun sets. But Eskom – because of its complete inability to effectively protect and regulate its revenue collection – refuses to maintain and reconnect the transformers. The result is thousands of paying customers remain without streetlights and electricity, making them vulnerable to the scourge of GBV and rape,” the source said. This is clearly evidenced in fact.

Ivory Park and Tembisa are in the top 30 hotspots in the country for contact crimes, including GBV and rape. Their hopelessly understaffed and corrupt SAPS station cannot cope with the rising number of crimes.

The continuing scourge of rolling blackouts, and Minister Gwede Matashe’s stubborn refusal to allow the complete opening up of the grid to allow independent power producers across the country to prevent the electricity grid from total collapse, borders on treason. Communities are easy prey to criminals, the depraved, and those who feed on innocent women and children the minute the sun goes down.

Ministers Mantashe and Cele. You are derelict in your duty. You have failed to provide electricity to the citizens of South Africa willing to pay for this service. You have failed to care for the vulnerable people in this country – especially women and children. You have failed all South Africans by your lack of caring, your complete lack of sensitivity and couldn’t care attitude.

It is time to implement some of the DA’s bold and credible energy policies and crime fighting initiatives that are working effectively in the DA-run Western Cape. Cape Town’s residents have already been shielded from hours of rolling blackouts by measures introduced as a result of innovative measures and good governance.

That is why actions speak louder than words. We will March on 25 January to Give Power To The People, and again at the ballot box in 2024.

Issued by Madeleine Hicklin MP - DA Political Head, Midrand Constituency