Durban - Msunduzi Municipality has pleaded with members of the public to report any acts of copper theft, which it says cripples the effort of providing services, especially when it comes to water and electricity.
The appeal follows the restoration of running water in public toilets at the city centre taxi rank last week.
The disruption in the water followed the theft of taps in public toilets, which prompted the municipality to replace them swiftly to avoid a health hazard.
“New Rank toilet taps that were stolen have been replaced by the municipality. The public is urged to assist us in preventing theft and vandalism to our infrastructure,” said the municipality in statement.
Msunduzi emphasised that most residents used taxi ranks as a source of economic activity and a point of interest for tourists and families, and it was important to have them properly maintained.
“As a municipality, we strive to ensure that public toilets in taxi ranks serve the community’s needs and are a worthwhile investment,” the municipality continued.
The theft and vandalism of the municipality infrastructure came under sharp focus at an Executive Committee (Exco) meeting recently, with senior councillors calling on city staff to stem the tide of theft.
Infrastructure portfolio committee chairperson and deputy mayor Mxolisi Mkhize told the Exco meeting that the city would not hesitate in acting against those vandalising municipal infrastructure. This is after it was revealed that most of the theft and vandalism of infrastructure, especially electricity, occurred during load shedding.
Last week Mkhize led a team of councillors and officials on site inspection including an electricity sub-station in Eastwood and a water reservoir as part of their oversight duty and expressed satisfaction at the progress made in getting the facility ready for operation.