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The recent KwaZulu-Natal floods have brought to light the eThekwini municipality’s failure to address collapsing infrastructure.

From being completely neglected to failing to use funds to procure new infrastructure, residents and business alike are bearing the brunt. They have also completely failed to address the seemingly increase in infrastructure vandalism and theft.

Today’s oversight inspection in eThekwini municipality have ascertained that the crisis solely falls on the municipality’s failure to procure, protect and prevent infrastructure collapse.

The DA is getting it right in municipalities where we govern. In the Cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, some of the measures implemented by our governments to deal with this are:

• Dedicated infrastructure protection budgets
• Specialised metro police units
• Private-public partnerships to secure facilities
• Reward hotlines and;
• Community raids to identify cable thieves, disconnect illegal electrical supplies and to secure infrastructure.

Furthermore, we have taken this fight to Parliament to get national government to intervene in this crisis.

We need well-resourced SAPS boots on the ground, actively preventing the theft and vandalism of our public infrastructure.  The DA believes that if we fail to safeguard our infrastructure then we will fail to protect our economy.

Issued by Mat Cuthbert MP - DA Shadow Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition