– Sol Plaatje Municipality must report all arson incidents to SAPS.
– SAPS must investigate attacks on infrastructure and identify motives.
– Infrastructure vandals must be prosecuted and held accountable.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on Northern Cape Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt. Gen. Koliswa Otola, to urgently increase police visibility and patrols across Kimberley following a surge in arson attacks on municipal electricity pillar boxes.
These attacks are not only damaging municipal infrastructure, they are also directly wreaking havoc on the lives of residents. Families are being left without light, businesses are losing income, children are struggling to study, and vulnerable residents are being exposed to increased safety risks as darkness creates opportunities for criminal activity.
According to a notice issued by Sol Plaatje Municipality yesterday, five pillar boxes in Diamant Park, Herlear, the CBD and Monument Heights were set alight, leaving several areas without electricity while repairs continue. These incidents are not isolated.
Last week, residents of El Toro Park were left without power after a pillar box exploded in MacDougall Street at around 03:30 last Friday morning. Reports of other electrical boxes catching fire across Kimberley point to a worrying pattern of infrastructure sabotage.
Whether these attacks are driven by vandalism or copper cable theft, residents suffer while taxpayers carry the cost. Every damaged pillar box means more money diverted from essential services to repairs. For a municipality already facing severe financial constraints, repeated attacks on infrastructure are unsustainable.
The DA will seek confirmation that Sol Plaatje Municipality has opened criminal cases in respect of all arson-related electricity pillar box incidents. SAPS must urgently determine whether these attacks are being conducted out of spite, given the ongoing instability within Sol Plaatje municipality, or if they form part of a broader criminal operation targeting municipal assets.
I have also requested Lt. Gen. Otola to prioritise visible policing in affected areas and strengthen cooperation between SAPS and municipal authorities. Those responsible must be identified, caught, convicted and strictly sentenced, as attacks on public infrastructure are direct attacks on residents themselves.
The DA appreciates the ongoing collaboration by CPFs and neighbourhood watch groups, who are doing their utmost to help keep Kimberley residents safe. We further urge residents to remain vigilant and immediately report suspicious activity around electrical infrastructure to SAPS, neighbourhood watch groups and the municipality, as community safety requires a whole-of-society effort.
Kimberley communities deserve to feel safe in their homes and should not have to endure repeated power outages because criminals are allowed to operate unchecked.