Mapela shares spotlight in Eskom’s anti-electricity theft campaign

The Mapela village, in Mokopane, Limpopo became a hive of activit when Eskom’s Operation Khanyisa visited the area, as part of its ongoing campaign aimed at educating the communities within the Limpopo Province of the dangers associated with electricity theft.

Limpopo, along with Gauteng, North West, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga are South Africa’s top six electricity theft hotspots areas.

“It is, therefore, against this backdrop that we decided to bring Operation Khanyisa, the Eskom-led national campaign that promotes the legal and safe use of electricity - here in Mapela where electricity theft is rife -  to educate the community in a manner that both young and old would understand,” Eskom’s Customer Relations Lesiba Maila said.

The Mapela community was treated to an entertaining industrial theatre play, which unpacked the impacts of electricity theft, in particular illegal connections, on human lives and the South African economy at large.

“Electricity theft is a serious problem in South Africa. Not only does it cost the country R20 billion every year, money that could be used for other important things such as building more schools; building more hospitals and expanding Eskom’s electrification programme to make sure that every single household in South Africa has access to electricity, but electricity theft also takes away human lives,” said Lesiba Maila .

He added: “The issue of human safety is critically important. I’m sure we’ve all read in newspapers or heard on the news of people, particularly innocent children, who tragically lose their lives when they come into contact with live wires from dangerous illegal connections.”

Maila encouraged the Mapela community to play a role in the fight against electricity theft by reporting perpetrators of this crime, anonymously, to 32211 (R1/SMS)

Mapela was Operation Khanyisa’s third stop of its five-day electricity safety education campaign currently taking place in the Limpopo province during the month of February.