“The maintenance has now been completed, and the trenches have been closed and topped off with cement,” said a clearly relieved René Benjamin.
Witpoortjie residents will now be able to sleep more soundly at night, knowing that the trenches at the South Road site where cable thieves have attempted numerous times to steal power cables – and succeeded twice – had been closed.
The site was a sensitive issue for many Witpoortjie residents and South Road users, as the City Power contractors battled for almost three weeks to complete all maintenance after the first incident of cable theft on 12 May that resulted in residents being without power for almost four days.
Just after the cable had been replaced, it was stolen again. As there were numerous repairs and maintenance work that technicians needed to complete, the trenches were left open – an invitation to would-be cable thieves.
According to Virgil James, the spokesperson for City Power, they are facing an onslaught by cable thieves in its area of supply. “City Power’s Risk and Security Department has identified Witpoortjie as one of the hot spots and the number of incidents are very high.” He added that once all the work has been completed City Power will place concrete slabs over the cables to keep them well secured.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
