According to the City of Cape Town, 37 incidents of looting, theft, and vandalism have been reported to the city’s infrastructure since the introduction of the overall nationwide lockdown in March. Vehicles from the city’s health services were also hijacked during the isolation period.
Zahid Badroodien, mayor of community services and health, said in a statement on Sunday that vehicles from the city’s health services were hijacked outside the Khayelitsha Mall during the isolation after staff completed an awareness campaign for Covid-19 in the area. It was one of three similar incidents in the City during the overall nationwide isolation.
According to Badroodien, after one incident, the City managed to recover one of its hijacked cars, although one was still searching. In another similar incident, the car was not stolen although staff were robbed of their personal belongings.
Several libraries were also broken during the lockdown period, including Bonteheuwel, Nyanga, Athlone, Rocklands and Tokai. A library in Athlone especially went through when geysers stole and the carpets of the library were drenched.
Ceiling boards and the roof of the library were also damaged when evildoers gained access to the library.
In other incidents, cables to the value of R300 000 were stolen at Monwabisi Resort and damaged the doors of the city’s Blue Downs public swimming pool.
According to Bardoodien, the damage to the city already amounts to more than R700 000. This does not include repairs whose costs have yet to be calculated.
“The complete isolation means that the repairs and replacement of infrastructure and equipment will take even longer, thus prolonging the negative impact,” Badroodien said.
According to Badroodien, the City also now had to set up an additional 24-hour security service at R4.1 million a month and forfeit a further R10.9 million a month for additional measures to protect facilities.
