WITH a backlog of close to 10 000 faulty street lights across the metro, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has intensified its street light maintenance project, with additional teams repairing faulty and vandalised street lights.
The intensified repair work started recently, with the three appointed contractors adding more teams to tackle the backlog.
MMC for Electricity and Energy in the metro, Lance Grootboom, conducted an oversight visit last week and said that the project was aimed at accelerating service delivery and reducing incidents where criminals take advantage of the darkness in some areas to attack residents.
“We have a total of 43 000 street lights across the city and a backlog of approximately 10 000. We have now added more teams to address the backlog. This is important work as it is our mandate as the municipality to provide this service.
“We are approaching the winter season now where it becomes dark very early, and we want to ensure that we service our communities. Some of these street lights have not been working for years,” said Grootboom.
“Residents can expect to see our teams working in the affected areas. We are getting our city to work again and it is very important for the street lights to work as crime prevails when these areas are dark.
“If we are to ensure that our communities are safe and beautified, the backlog must be addressed daily. We have teams all over the city fixing lights,” he added.
Gootboom visited West End, Arcadia and Heath Park where teams were found progressing well with work.
Excited residents have welcomed the project, saying that it will make a difference and will make them feel safe again.
“We are happy to finally have these lights fixed.
“Crime is a challenge in our community and to have the whole street without lights during loadshedding or not has been a challenge,” said Gqeberha resident, Elize Jantjies.
“No-one feels safe to be on the street during the evenings, because you can be attacked easily without seeing any danger beforehand.
“We thank the municipality and appeal to a sustainable solution to the vandalism and cable theft because sometimes the lights are not faulty as such, but they have been stripped,” she said.
– ISSUED BY THE NELSON MANDELA BAY COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
