'Daylight robbery' comes to light

GEORGE NEWS - Vandalism rules the day - or so it seems after the municipality said the vast escalation of vandalism of its fibre network is the reason why streetlights are on during the day all over town.

George Herald approached the municipality after a reader pointed out that in certain areas, streetlights are on every day during daylight hours.

He said he has seen lights on at 09:00 in the Fancourt area and also specifically mentioned Boshoff Street in Blanco and streetlights in Heatherlands.

He said at a time of load-shedding and high electricity prices, this is unacceptable. George Herald did some investigation of its own and detected, among others, lights burning in the morning in Herold's Bay and in the afternoon in Bergsig.

Fibre network

George municipal spokesperson Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe on Tuesday said that municipal streetlights are controlled remotely through a fibre network using a ripple control unit to switch them on and off.

"This is done through different main substations in town (Glenwood, Protea, George Main, Tamsui, Langenhoven, and Heather Park) daily. Due to the vast escalation of vandalism of fibre in our town, the 'remote communication' to turn off the ripples does not always work, resulting in streetlights being on in certain areas," Mangqwengqwe said.

However, the electrotechnical department is currently investigating the possibility of putting new measures in place to protect the council's infrastructure, and hopes to use some of the new technology for infrastructure that becomes available annually to this end.

Report, report, please report vandalism

In the meantime, the public can help fight the scourge. Mangqwengqwe urged the public to contact the office and report any acts of vandalism, or lights that are burning during the day.

Report vandalism on 044 801 9222/044 803 9222 or 044 801 6300 (a/h), or the police on 10111.

A streetlight at Herolds Bay burning in broad daylight.
Photos: Eugene Gunning