The City of Johannesburg has issued a call for communities to play a more active role this year in protecting the city, noting that infrastructure critical to providing basic services to the people of Johannesburg “remains under siege from vandals and thieves”.

Cable theft can be reported to City Power using any of the following 24-hour hotlines: 011 490 7900, 011 490 7911, 011 490 7553. Alternatively, one can Whatsapp 083 579 4497.

Vandalism or theft of Joburg Water infrastructure can be anonymously reported to +278 000 02587.

The city says cable theft continued at alarmingly high levels during the festive season, especially following incidents of flooding at the beginning of December.

City Power is also continuing to face rampant cable theft in Roodepoort with 17 instances of cable theft occurring in the last week alone, the city points out.

In 2022, over 200 Jojo tanks provided by Johannesburg Water to communities to supply areas without formal services were either stolen or vandalised, the city adds.   

“This situation breaks my heart. Cable theft and infrastructure vandalism are killing service delivery across the country. We need communities to work with us this year to ensure we put an immediate stop to this plaque,” Environment and Infrastructure Service Department (EISD) MMC Councillor Michael Sun says.

Last year, the EISD​ launched an infrastructure protection initiative to work alongside neighbourhood watches and other groups, aimed at helping safeguard City Power’s electrical grid. While this initiative had borne fruit, cable theft remains rampant, the city says.

“Although our effort with City Power has helped to put 147 cable thieves behind bars in just the last six months of 2022 – almost double the amount compared to the previous 12-month period, cable theft is still far too high with instances occurring on a daily basis.

“This year we are going to redouble our efforts and ensure City Power works in tandem with the law enforcement agencies and shoulder to shoulder with communities to extinguish this horrendous crime against lives, livelihoods and our national stability,” Sun says.

City Power is currently undertaking an emergency plan to deal with cable theft immediately, which will include adding to its already over R100-million security budget, the city outlines.

Joburg Water is also recrafting its approach to the deployment of water tankers. The entity deploys or installs Jojo Tanks in communities as a last resort or alternative solution when conventional tap water cannot be supplied. However, this cannot be reliably continued at the rate these units are disappearing in communities, the city says.

“It is very seldom that information about incidents of cable thieves and vandals or Jojo tanks disappearing or being damaged are being shared by the communities in which they occur.

“This is why I am appealing to every single Joburger to not sit back and watch our valuable infrastructure be stolen or vandalised only to enrich the criminals living amongst us. If you see or hear something: report it. Information can be supplied anonymously too. Your city needs your help,” Sun avers.