Pretoria - Major roads in the metro have been in the dark in recent months due to street lights that have not been functioning.
These include Lynnwood Road, Solomon Mahlangu Drive and Simon Vermooten Road in Equestria, Shabangu Street in Mamelodi and Christian de Witt Ave near Fountains Valley Resort.
A resident in Cura Street, Equestria, said she nearly fell victim to an armed robbery when robberies waited in a dark corner on Furrow Road and followed her to her
complex.
“Luckily the security guard at the gate responded swiftly with a bright torch, which caused the robbers to retreat.
“In addition to that, we have also had three car accidents on the road which had been incident-free for almost five years,” she said.
Another motorist said driving past the Eeufees precinct, commonly known for smash-and-grabs, was a nightmare.
In Soshanguve, overhead street lights installed by the City of Tshwane were being stolen.
According to the residents, in some instances, the thieves steal the street light poles. “Most shockingly, the municipal infrastructure is often vandalised in broad daylight or stolen in full view of the public,” said a resident.
Thieves have also been cashing (in) on bulbs at the top of the aluminium street light poles along Solomon Mahlangu Drive, as well as the cables. The bulbs have vanished thick and fast in the past few weeks, while cables are presumably being sold for scrap metal.
At least 45 poles have been sawn down during the day and in the middle of the night.
Given that they are 10m tall, their disappearance is attracting a lot of attention.
City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said they were aware of the problem. As a result, a public lighting maintenance contractor had been appointed as of January.
Thus far, teams have been deployed at various sites across the metro.
“Main routes already attended include Solomon Mahlangu, Lynnwood, Graham and Boschkop roads.”
Mashigo said during the November/December period, the City of Tshwane implemented an integrated street lights repair programme in efforts to reduce the street lights backlog within Region 6. “A total of 1050 street lights were repaired during this programme.”
Mashigo said in Region 1, R97million had been set aside for this programme.
Following an assessment of elements that comprised safety, outgoing mayor Stevens Mokgalapa championed the accelerated service delivery component to ensure well-lit neighbourhoods.
At least 122 street lights and eight high-mast lights were repaired in Soshanguve Block UU, Block VV, Block TT, Block WW and Ga-Rankuwa Zone 17.
The repairs included globe replacement, resetting of lights and replacement of photo cells, Mashigo said.