Vandalism and theft of the electricity infrastructure in Lentegeur has been described as an uncontrollable pandemic.
Ward 76 councillor Avron Plaatjies says his office has been inundated with requests to repair the street lights in the community.
Plaatjies says: “I log countless of these lights and engage the department on these unusual response times of these notifications.
“We are rather chasing our tails with the level of vandalism with our street lights and other public infrastructure.”
Lentegeur Community Police Forum chairperson Byron de Villiers says with the lights being out, skollies shoot in the dark places affected.
De Villiers says: “There have been several C3 calls logged by the community, however, it’s still an ongoing problem because of cable theft and vandalism.”
The Mitchells Plain district remains one of the hardest-hit with 137 (39%) incidents of vandalism reported since the start of 2024.
Plaatjies says from the incidents reported in Lentegeur, several streets are in the dark as light poles have been damaged.
Meanwhile, communities in Lotus River, Grassy Park and Philippi have also fallen victim to vandalism and illegal connections.
In Hanover Park, Amanda Vries, from Lonston Road, says street lights have been out since December 2023.
Vries says: “They are shooting here and then we still have load shedding for four hours. Our children are not safe.”