Cape Town - Plagued by vandalism, theft and illegal connections, the City’s Water and Sanitation Department has resorted to offering a hefty reward for information that could lead to a breakthrough.
The City’s Water and Sanitation mayco member Zahid Badroodien said: “We are offering a reward of up to R5000 to any resident that will help us by reporting incidents or information related to theft and vandalism of water and sanitation infrastructure, which leads to a successful arrest or recovery of stolen infrastructure.
“Recently, I was in Bagzane Street, Delft, where I was made aware of illegal connections to our sewage infrastructure. These have not only damaged a road that was repaired just last month but has also increased the load to a system that will likely overflow and cause secondary damage to the roads and surrounding infrastructure.”
Badroodien said that according to reports issued to his department, streetside traders and informal settlement residents living in the area dug up the road to get to the sewer pipes to make illegal connections.
“Three units attended to the blockages, which became increasingly tense and volatile. Residents even threw a spade and other items at our officials. Threats and attacks against our frontline staff, from hijackings, armed robberies to the stoning of water and sanitation vehicles are increasing.
“The reward of up to R5 000 underscores the City’s efforts to combat the malicious and uncontrolled destruction our infrastructure is experiencing.
“Additionally, it will help to encourage residents to be vigilant and to protect public infrastructure. A zero-tolerance approach must be adopted if we are serious about tackling this attack head-on,” said Badroodien.
Delft councillor Michelle Adonis said: “This is the first time we have a report of illegal sewer connections. We believe that the connections are perpetrated by residents living in the informal settlement.
“The situation is not good because innocent people are suffering. I contacted Mayco Badroodien to have the incident investigated and hopefully resolved soon. However, we still have to work together as a community to ensure that this is resolved,” Adonis said.