THE Municipality would like to condemn in the strongest possible terms the continuous vandalism of municipal infrastructure.
On Saturday, May 1, 2021 a break-in and the vandalism of the Motherwell main sub-station was reported. Stanford Road street lights, that were fixed last week, were again vandalised over the weekend, leaving this busy road dark and dangerous for pedestrians and motorists alike. Cables were stolen and some light bulbs were broken.
In most of the incidents of vandalism at substations, theft of cables and electricity infrastructure like transformers is the most common act.
A new transformer costs around R10 million. To buy a new one can take up to eight months.
Destroying community halls
As if the vandalism and stripping of the Motherwell NU 30 community hall over the past three months were not enough, on Saturday the same hall was burnt down.
Currently the NU 29 and NU 30 community halls as well as the Allanridge Civic Centre have been vandalised beyond repair.
Community halls and multipurpose centres are a critical component of service delivery. Community meetings, events and other health and fitness and sporting activities are also commonly hosted at these centres.
Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Councilor Annette Lovemore chairs the Anti-vandalism Steering Committee which was established two months ago to deal with the vandalism. She said, “We have to spend ratepayers’ money and time repairing damage in a time that we should be moving forward, delivering services.
“We are making regular arrests, and, with the help of vigilant citizens who report suspicious behaviour around our infrastructure, we simply must win this fight.”
