Pipe theft cuts off water in Richmond

Richmond residents are to be patient after the disruption of water supplies caused by copper pipes theft.

|||

Durban - uMgungundlovu District Municipality (uMDM) has urged residents to be patient after the disruption of water supplies to several areas in Richmond, including Endaleni, Phatheni and Smozomeni, following the theft of copper pipes.

Municipal spokesperson, Mbali Ndlovu, said on Monday there had been a break-in at Richmond municipal property, and copper pipes supplying water to Endaleni and surrounding areas had been stolen. As a result, the two pumps that supply water to these areas were not pumping water, he said.

“uMDM officials are working around the clock to ensure the resumption of water supply to affected areas,” Ndlovu said.

He said the municipality had arranged for two water tanks to supply affected residents to ease water shortages.

Ndlovu said the municipality had commissioned a service provider to fix the pumps using poly-copper pipes so that the water pumps could start pumping water to affected communities as soon as possible.

Police confirmed that a case of theft had been opened at the Richmond Police Station.

“We want the culprits to be brought to book for sabotaging critical service delivery processes,” Ndlovu said.

Copper theft has plagued KZN for several years.

Earlier this year, Msunduzi municipal manager, Mxolisi Nkosi, said cable theft and illegal electricity connection losses exceeded a billion rand, and he wrote a letter to the chief magistrate in Pietermaritzburg urging the courts to impose harsh sentences on criminals found guilty of copper theft.

Msunduzi municipality established an electricity task team to clamp down on copper theft in the city in 2013, after six municipal sub-stations were plundered by copper thieves.

The team arrested 53 suspects within a six-month period.

Of the 53 arrested suspects, nine were Msunduzi Municipality employees.

Meanwhile, 26 people alleged to be part of a syndicate responsible for the theft of “tens of millions of rand” worth of copper cables and conductors from Transnet and Eskom will go on trial in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court next year. The accused face 189 charges.

Recent reports suggest copper cable theft is costing the country in the region of R16 billion a year.

sherlissa.peters@inl.co.za

Daily News

* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.