Theft and vandalism of Joburg’s traffic lights will cost R70m to repair

John Perlman speaks with Ferial Haffajee, Associate Editor for The Daily Maverick.

Listen below:

Driving through Johannesburg can be a nightmare because of the disastrous state of our traffic lights.

More than 300 robots have reportedly been damaged by theft and vandalism.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency says that repairing them would cost R70 million.

The JRA also installed 1400 UPS units to ensure consistent power supply to our traffic lights.

All but 15 of these units have been stolen.

RELATED: Vandalism & tampering of traffic lights: 'The cost to the economy is significant'

According to Haffajee, the City has plans to establish the hotspots and place crime prevention wardens there.

“As citizens, I think we need to watch for that… We know where the hotspots are. Are we seeing the police stationed there?” 

- Ferial Haffajee, Associate Editor - The Daily Maverick

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.