Executive Director of Tshwane Strategic Communication, Selby M Bokaba, said that the City of Tshwane and Mayor Solly Msimanga, condemn the acts of criminality and intimidation, which took place in Olievenhoutbosch this past Tuesday (March 6) when a team of technicians was held hostage by a group of protesters, while they were repairing faulty cables at the Noordwes substation in Centurion.
This hostage drama resulted in the delay of repair work that needed to be done at other affected areas which included Erasmia, Laudium, Claudius, Louwlardia and Lyttleton. The power outage in Lyttleton left the city's offices and some sections of the Unitas Hospital without power. The protesters, who later blockaded the R55 road with burning tyres, also caused some damage to the Olievenhoutbosch Community Centre, Selby added.
He continued, “Our technicians only managed to restore power to Lyttleton on Wednesday morning (March 7). The team continued to work on restoring power to Louwlardia. Meanwhile, another team of technicians attended to the cable fault that led to a power failure in Lyttleton Manor. The City will investigate and act decisively against the anarchists who are continuing in their attempts to instil fear in our employees with a view to distracting us from discharging our responsibilities. We will not be deterred from providing services to our people by vandalism or criminality.
The City apologises for the inconvenience caused and undertakes to restore normal services as speedily as possible,” Selby concluded.
Tshwane mayor, Solly Msimanga, condemned protests in Olievenhoutbosch where technicians were held hostage.