Reacting to news of the death of 10-year-old Asandile Pati ,who was electrocuted as a result of illegal connections in Thokoza, at the weekend, Mondli Gungubele said it is time for the community to say ”enough is enough”.
Asandile tripped and fell on the illegal wiring while playing with his friends.
“Every time we make an effort to remove illegal connections we are attacked by angry communities. The sad scenario is that the practice claims innocent lives on an annual basis, yet communities still allows it to continue.
“Our communities must understand that while this is a threat to the electricity grid in the country, our main issue as a municipality is the loss of innocent lives.
“You will know that not only do people get electrocuted, even those who rely on electricity-dependent life-support systems are endangered because of unplanned power outages forced by overloading the system.”
The mayor encouraged parents to keep a watchful eye on their children, as a deterrent to more of such incidents.
Gungubele also appealed to local communities to support the city in its ongoing campaign against illegal connections.
The campaign, which started two years ago and is targeting hot spots, has already resulted in illegal connections being removed in areas such as Thokoza.
According to Zweli Dlamini, mayoral spokesman, the city loses almost R200-million from the theft of electricity each year.
