Nelson Mandela Bay: The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has called on community members to report and stop the vandalism of electricity infrastructure. The call follows the collapse of a substation in Khayelitsha, Kariega, due to vandalism.
According to South African Government News Agency, the City’s Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Electricity and Energy, Ziyanda Mnqokoyi, stated that the incident, which took place last week Monday, has resulted in the loss of power supply to many households. Mnqokoyi mentioned that the substation is currently undergoing rehabilitation and it will take approximately two weeks to fix the damage.
Mnqokoyi explained that oversight visits were conducted throughout the past week in the affected substation building, which had unfortunately collapsed due to vandalism, causing a loss of power supply. She confirmed that the work has commenced but emphasized that to restore power, a comprehensive scope of work is required. This includes building the distribution substation, procuring and installing switchgear, and testing and commissioning.
She elaborated that the team has indicated that given the complexity of the work, the usual completion timeframe for such a project would be at least six months. However, they are working diligently to expedite the process, aiming to complete the project by 31 January 2025.
Mnqokoyi condemned the “blatant criminality” and appealed to residents to cease vandalizing infrastructure, as it impacts service delivery. She also urged residents with information regarding the incident to report it to the municipality’s law enforcement agencies or the South African Police Service to bring the perpetrators to justice.