Johannesburg – Emfuleni Local Municipality in the Vaal is facing serious electrical infrastructure damage as three of its major substations caught fire in Vanderbijlpark on three consecutive days over the Easter weekend.
The municipality said several people had been arrested.
The executive mayor of the municipality, Sipho Radebe, saluted members of the SAPS, community members, neighbourhood security teams and the internal investigating team for the arrests.
The mayor has ordered law enforcement agencies to be on high alert and to investigate suspicious activity or deliberate acts of sabotage.
“During the early hours of Monday, the SAPS arrested one suspect, while six others escaped arrest. A neighbourhood watch tactical team alerted the police about suspected criminal activity surrounding the digging of cable. In Duncanville, a 35-year-old suspect from Small Farms in Evaton was arrested in possession of a 200-metre cable valued at R100 000.
“In a sting operation on Tuesday, the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s investigating team, through MMC Mokoena, who is responsible for public safety, apprehended four suspects, two males and two females, including a security guard who was on duty (at the substation) at the time,” the mayor’s office said.
Mayoral spokesperson Lebo Mofokeng said that during the investigations, an Amarok bakkie was seen on CCTV at the town substation minutes before the substation could explode.
Mofokeng said the bakkie was found and the four occupants arrested.
According to Radebe, the municipality will convene a representative stakeholder meeting by the end of this week with the aim of seeking a long-term solution to protect municipal infrastructure.
Meanwhile, MMC for Public Safety Ellias Raditsela Mokoena said such well-organised criminal activities would receive the attention they deserved. “I have zero tolerance when it comes to crime and corruption,” he added.
The mayor also urged the community not to destroy infrastructure during protests.
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