The City of Cape Town says it has spent at least R7.7 million over the past 10 months on repairs of electrical and traffic signal infrastructure that have been vandalised or stolen at intersections across the city.
In a statement, the City said the affected intersections were Blaauwberg Road and Janssens Avenue, Blaauwberg and Koeberg Roads, Giel Basson Avenue in and around Burgundy Estate, Postdam Road near Dunoon, the Plattekloof Road/N7 interchange, and the Malibongwe Drive/N7 interchange
The City said that acts of violence, theft and vandalism of infrastructure not only cost the City, but the residents as well.
Over the past ten months, the City’s Transport Directorate has spent approximately R7,7 million on repairs of electrical and traffic signal infrastructure that have been vandalised or stolen at intersections across the city.
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— City of Cape Town (@CityofCT) April 6, 2021
“Every time a traffic signal is damaged by violence that comes with protest action, we have to find money somewhere to replace it as it has a severe impact on road safety when signals are non-functional.
“Often, the money is allocated to a future project that stands to benefit our communities. Thus, every time we repair a vandalised signal, another project is delayed and the community is robbed,” the City said.
Mayoral Committee Member for Transport, Felicity Purchase, said residents’ safety remained compromised, and roads became congested, causing huge delays and frustration for motorists.
“In some areas, intersections are repeatedly vandalised and this puts an added strain on our already strained resources. Each rectification activity takes several days to carry out,” she said.
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