Ripe for the picking

Amidst constant electricity outages and rotational load shedding by Msukaligwa Local Municipality (MLM), sub- and mini-substations are systematically stripped away and vandalized. Like a frog in a pot of slowly heating water, criminal elements coax more and more from MLM with each passing day, and the lack of maintenance to infrastructure makes it a walk in the park. Scenes such as this one in Erica Avenue is commonplace, with more and more substation doors, coverings, wiring and internals making a miraculous disappearance with each passing day.

This coverless substation begs to be vandalized, and should the surrounding field be set alight, the internals will be melted beyond repair. Alas, this is but one of many substations being left without maintenance, without doors and coverings, to rust away and be systematically stripped, and MLM all the while lamenting and blaming the inadequate electrical infrastructure for outages. As the old saying goes, a bad workman always blames his tools.