Frustrated Durban North residents are up in arms about streetlights that have not been working for several months. They claim that this makes them ‘soft targets’ for criminals and creates opportunities for burglars.
The disgruntled ratepayers are demanding that the over 30 streetlights which are not working in the Durban North area be fixed by eThekwini Municipality as they are tired of living in the dark. Some of the affected roads include uMhlanga Rocks Drive, Adelaide Tambo Drive, Soofie Saheb Drive, Virginia Circle, McKeurtan Avenue, Brownsdrift, Blackburn and Swapo Road.
Durban North resident, Michelle Williams, said as a woman she feels unsafe when driving in the streets at night. “The streets are dark and this also invites criminals to come into the area and commit crime. We are sick and tired of living in the dark, while we are paying rates. The Electricity Department needs to prioritise lighting up the streets of Durban North,” said Williams.
Ward 36 councillor, Shontel De Boer, said the issue of faulty and broken streetlights in Durban North had been going on for a long time. “Some streets in Durban North have been in the dark for many years and the municipality keeps giving different excuses. One time they claim to be vandalism, sometimes they say it’s faults and sometimes they say it’s cable theft. The issue of streetlights not working has been getting worse over time. If you drive in Durban North at night, it is absolutely dark. It is not safe to be driving at night.”
De Boer said she had followed up on the issue and in December 2019 she was assured by the head of the Electricity Department that by Christmas the streetlights would be fixed. However, she said four months later nothing had been done. “The municipality just can’t seem to get the streetlights issue sorted. It seems like we are hitting a brick wall, and our complaints are falling on deaf ears. I get about five to ten people complaining about streetlights in Durban North daily,” said De Boer. She added that the list of non-working streetlights kept getting longer. “The municipality is just not getting anywhere and it is frustrating as a councillor to deal with the same issue of streetlights in Durban North.”
Brian Daish chairperson of the community policing forum Sub-forum 4 said there have been numerous burglaries in the community due to the suburb being dark. Crime and prostitution is on the rise along Riverside Road due to this issue. Residents are calling for urgent intervention as they are tired of living in the dark. Workers at local shops and pedestrians are also affected as it is dark when they finish work at around 6pm, this makes them soft targets for mugging.
EThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said streetlight vandalism and cable theft remain as issues for the city as criminals continue to damage infrastructure, costing the city millions. “We therefore call upon residents to play their part by reporting those who are responsible for this scourge. The city cannot win the fight alone.” Mayisela has asked residents to continue reporting streetlight faults to the electricity service unit by calling the contact centre on 080-1313-111.
“Residents are to ensure that they provide the operator with as much information as possible, ensuring that the faulty streetlights can be easily located. Relevant information should include the following: street name or closest address to the streetlight pole, streetlight pole number, description of fault, and residents should obtain a fault reference number from the operator when they finish logging a fault. This can be used to track the status of the query and all related remedial activities,” said Mayisela.
