RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the arrest of a municipal employee following a successful operation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Mapogo a Mathamaga from the Royal Bafokeng Administration (RBA) at a property in Tsitsting.
The arrested individual is employed in the Electrical Department of the Rustenburg Local Municipality.
The suspect, along with accomplices, was apprehended and is currently detained at Phokeng Police Station in connection with the theft of electrical cables. Further investigations revealed that the total value of the stolen cables is estimated to be around R800 000.
The DA strongly believes that the cables found on-site might be linked to the ongoing vandalism of critical infrastructure that has plagued the city of Rustenburg.
Given that the suspect is a municipal employee with knowledge of the municipal supply network, it raises serious concerns about the potential abuse of insider information to target essential infrastructure.
This arrest comes after years of continued vandalism that have left the city of Rustenburg in complete darkness, severely impacting residents and businesses, with incidents reported as recently as yesterday. Cable theft not only disrupts essential services, but also undermines public safety and economic growth.
The DA condemns any form of corruption and criminal activity that compromises public infrastructure and service delivery. We commend SAPS and Mapogo a Mathamaga from RBA for their swift action and urge law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure accountability and justice.
The DA will continue to monitor the situation to ensure accountability in this case.
Furthermore, we will submit questions to council regarding the measures that will be taken to address the potential abuse of insider information by municipal employees and what steps will be implemented to support residents and businesses affected. “Under a DA government, we will implement stringent security measures to safeguard public infrastructure,” Snyders concluded.
