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This is a call for the Joburg communities to play a more active role in 2023 as infrastructure critical to providing basic services to the people of Johannesburg remains under siege from vandals and thieves. 

Cable Theft continued at alarmingly high levels during the festive season especially following incidents of flooding at the beginning of December 2022. City Power continues to battle rampant cable theft in Roodepoort with seventeen instances of cable theft occurring in the last week alone.

In 2022 alone, over 200 Jojo tanks provided by Johannesburg Water to communities to supply areas without formal services were either stolen or vandalised. 

“This situation breaks my heart, cable theft and infrastructure vandalism are killing service delivery across the country. We need communities to work with us this year to ensure we put an immediate stop to this plaque,” MMC for the Environment and Infrastructure Service Department, councillor Michael Sun said.

Last year, EISD launched an infrastructure protection initiative to work alongside neighbourhood watches and other groups taking it upon themselves to help safeguard City Power’s electrical grid. While this initiative had borne fruit, cable theft remains rampant.

“Although our effort with City Power has helped to put 147 cable thieves behind bars in just the last 6 months of 2022 – almost double the amount compared to the previous twelve month period, cable theft is still far too high with instances occurring on a daily basis.” MMC Sun said. 

“This year we are going to redouble our efforts and ensure City Power works in tandem with the law enforcement agencies and shoulder to shoulder with communities to extinguish this horrendous crime against lives, livelihoods and our national stability.”

City Power is currently seized with crafting an emergency plan to deal with Cable Theft immediately which will include adding to its already over R100m security budget among others. 

Joburg Water is also recrafting its approach to the deployment of Water Tankers. The entity deploys or install Jojo Tanks in communities as a last resort or alternative solution when conventional tap water cannot be supplied. However, this cannot be reliably continued at the rate these units are disappearing in communities.  

“It is very seldom that information about incidents of cable thieves and vandals or Jojo tanks disappearing or being damaged are being shared by the communities in which they occur,” MMC Sun said.

“This is why I am appealing to every single Joburger to not sit back and watch our valuable infrastructure be stolen or vandalised only to enrich the criminals living amongst us. If you see or hear something: report it. Information can be supplied anonymously too. Your City needs your help.” 

To report cable theft to City Power use any of these 24-hour hotlines: 011 490 7900. 011 490 7911. 011 490 7553. Alternatively, Whatsapp 083-579-4497 

To report vandalism or theft of Joburg Water infrastructure use this anonymous line: +27800002587

Issued by for the Environment and Infrastructure Service Department, councillor Michael Sun