Masakaneng community urged to avoid illegal electricity connections
MASAKANENG
MMC responsible for Infrastructure in Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality (EMLM), Cllr Rhodes Msiza, has on Saturday 8 March met with the Masakaneng community outside Groblersdal to address the pressing issue of illegal electricity connections which are prevalent in the settlement.
According to the municipality, the meeting aimed to raise awareness, gather feedback, and collaborate on solutions to eradicate the problem.
MMC Msiza warned businesses and residents to refrain from frequently using improvised connections to unlawfully access the network.
“Both the person creating the connection and the rest of the community are at risk because of this. Illegal electricity connections are claiming the lives of many South Africans and causing power outages throughout the country,” he said.
Msiza indicated that these connections are located over walkways where anyone walking by runs the risk of getting electrocuted and suffering harm or perhaps dying if they come into contact with live electricity wires.
“The provision of services to legitimate power consumers is slowed down by needless power failures and outages brought on by illegal connections and electricity theft, which overtax the municipality’s resources. Even though most people are aware that connecting illegally can be risky, they nonetheless do it,” said Mzisa.
However, Msiza said some of the residents have voiced their concerns regarding the widespread issue of illegal electrical connections in their community.
“These unauthorized connections have resulted in frequent power outages, as well as dangerous situations such as electrical shocks and fires,” he said.
A community member, Alpheus Nkadimeng, highlighted the residents’ awareness of their actions, stating: “They acknowledged that they were on the wrong side and they request an apology amnesty on that, but they also emphasize the need for their electricity to be upgraded for business purposes.”
EMLM Spokesperson, Simon Makua, said 90 illegal connections were removed during a recent audit conducted by the municipality.
Makua said the local municipality is doing auditing every week to combat illegal connections in Masakaneng.
