The City of Ekurhuleni strongly condemns the shooting of an on-duty electrician in Boksburg last night.
The employee was responding to a multiple power outage in the area when he was shot and robbed at a substation in Dayanglen at around 8 pm. The employee had to be rushed to the hospital where he is recovering.
“Thank God he survived the shooting and our prayers are with him and his family through the recovery process.
“This city strongly condemns the senseless attack on a man who left the comfort of his home and his family on a Saturday night to assist the community, only to be attacked by senseless thugs. These unfortunate incidents are becoming a major problem. In fact, our workers are now reluctant and even refusing to attend to power outages at night because of these acts of criminality,” says metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.
“The employees’ behaviour is quite understandable because this job is turning out to be life-threatening. The unfortunate part is that this means that our customers and residents alike will now have to deal with extended power outages.”
The incident forced the team to withdraw from the electricity restoration process leaving Morganridge, Davanglen and Boksburg West without power for the whole of last night. The work resumed this morning.
“While we remain committed to rendering quality and sustainable services at all times, such incidents of criminality derail our efforts. We, therefore, implore our communities to assist in the protection of these employees because they are performing a critical task,” says Dlamini. “We have people who need electricity for survival, and without it they can die. Unfortunately, the criminals care less about that.”
The city undertakes to continue to always provide quality and sustainable services to its customers.
Anyone with information regarding yesterday’s shooting can forward such information to the police for further processing and investigation. The number to call is 08600 10111.