Africa-Press – South-Africa. Cases of vandalism of essential infrastructure have spiked in the Eastern Cape’s two metros – Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City – where more than 1 000 cases were reported to the police recently.
Nelson Mandela Bay has 748 cases while Buffalo City has 484.
However, that does not include cases that are not reported.
Over the past four years, 72 cellphone towers, 90 railway infrastructure and 89 electrical substations were vandalised in Nelson Mandela Bay.
In Buffalo City, 96 cellphone towers, 43 railway infrastructure and three electrical substations were vandalised over the same period.
The spike in the cases of vandalism of essential infrastructure in both metros was revealed by Community Safety MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxotiwe.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, reported cases more than doubled, rising from 143 in the 2020/21 financial year to 292 in the 2021/22 financial year.
For the same period under review, in Buffalo City, the cases rose more than 76%, from 146 cases to 258.
The destruction of essential infrastructure includes the theft of cables, vandalism of public facilities such as schools, water distribution equipment, electricity substations, sewerage works, and commuter delays, damaging the economy and environment.
These figures, which looked at a nine-month period between April and December per financial year, were provided by Tikana-Gxothiwe in response to a parliamentary question from the DA.
Tikana-Gxothiwe said in Nelson Mandela Bay, over the four years, only 776 arrests with a paltry 217 successful prosecutions were made, while in Buffalo City there had been even fewer arrests, with just 396 arrests and a miserable 37 successful prosecutions.
The policing areas that have been hit the hardest in Nelson Mandela Bay are Swartkops, Uitenhage, Mount Road, Kamesh and Algoa Park.
While in Buffalo City, the affected areas include East London, Cambridge, Zwelitsha, Mdantsane and Ndevana.
The statistics provided did not, however, include the other 37 municipalities in the province, said DA MPL Bobby Stevenson.
He added criminals were destroying the “very fabric of our society and creating a wasteland of lawlessness, which is holding the society hostage”.
According to Stevenson, on a national basis, infrastructure vandalism had resulted in R7 billion worth of damage to Transnet, Telkom and Eskom.
It is estimated the ensuing costs to the economy are R187 billion annually.
“SAPS needs to pull out all stops to eradicate this terrible destruction of our infrastructure, and I believe a special task force needs to be established so that the culprits can be hunted down along with those buying the scrap metal.
“Community organisations such as police forums and neighbourhood watches need to mobilise residents to protect their infrastructure,” said Stevenson.
He added the cost to the economy was enormous, and the inconvenience to residents and businesses was a huge burden.
Stevenson said the scourge needed to be eradicated from our society before more schools, buildings, and railway stations were damaged and forced to close.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
