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Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is piloting a solar-powered lighting project along a section of Standford Road in the Northern Areas to counter ongoing vandalism and load shedding.
NMB said R3.5 million was spent on the installation of 20-meter high solar lighting masts between Cleary Park and Windvogel.
It is expected to be completed next month.
“We have devised various strategies to try and address the destruction of this infrastructure, including burying cables under concrete and replacement of underground cables with aluminum aerial bundled conductors,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Electricity and Energy, Lance Grootboom.
“Despite all the interventions, some main roads and in certain suburbs still get vandalized continuously,” he said.
Grootboom said that that the “sturdy design of the high mast means it cannot be cut or pulled over with a vehicle like a normal streetlight pole.
“As a pilot project, when we see the success of this installation, we will roll it out to other affected areas,” he added, while urging all stakeholders to partner with the Municipality in the fight against the “cancer of vandalism.”
