The executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, Clr Mondli Gungubele, has warned that more innocent lives are going to be lost if illegal electricity connections are allowed to continue in our communities.<\/p>\n
Reacting to news of the death of 10-year-old Asandile Pati, who was electrocuted as a result of illegal connections in Thokoza last weekend, Gungubele said it is time for the community to say \u201cenough is enough\u201d.<\/p>
\u201cEvery time we make an effort to remove illegal connections we get attacked by angry communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sad scenario is that the practice claims innocent lives on an annual basis yet communities still allow them to continue,\u201d Gungubele said.<\/p>
\u201cOur 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mayor encouraged parents to keep a watchful eye on their children to try and prevent more incidents of this nature.<\/p>\n
Gungubele has sent his condolences to the family of little Asandile.<\/p>\n
Asandile tripped and fell on the illegal wiring while playing with his friends in Thokoza.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Gungubele has appealed to local communities to support the city in its ongoing campaign against illegal connections.<\/p>\n
The campaign, which started two years ago and is targeting hotspots, has already resulted in illegal connections being removed in, among other areas, Thokoza, Dukathole and Langaville.<\/p>\n
The metro loses almost R200-million from the theft of electricity each year.<\/p>\n
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