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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane demands that the ANC-led administration to act against the recent rising occurrence of cable theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure.

Cable theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure have gotten worse in the City of Tshwane recently leaving the residents, businesses and even hospitals without electricity for days on end.

Since January 2025, the residents of Soshanguve Block P, Y, X, and part of VV and WW as well as Ext 19 A&B and 14 A&B have experienced prolonged power outages almost every second week as a result of theft and vandalism that happen frequently at the X and K2 substations.

The worst part is that there are not even security guards deployed at both of the X and K2 substations even after these recent incidents. Moreover, this past weekend the residents and businesses in Erasmuskloof, in the east of Pretoria spent almost two days without electricity as a result of cable theft. It is deeply concerning that these incidents happen frequently in the same spots that are known to the city, but nothing has been done to prevent them.

An estimated amount of over R500 million rands is lost every year due to cable theft and vandalism.

The DA demands that the ANC-led administration speeds up the process of implementing the hybrid model that was initiated during the DA-led administration. This model uses a combination of warm bodies and security technologies to prevent cable theft and the vandalism of infrastructure. Furthermore, we also call on the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) to collaborate with stakeholders such as private security companies, Community Policing Forums (CPF), and neighbourhood watches to help prevent these incidents.

Issued by Ald Alfred Makhafula - DA Tshwane Spokesperson on Community Safety