Florida, Johannesburg West – Gauteng
Source articles originally published:
- published 23 September 2023
- published 2 November 2022
The Johannesburg community of Florida has over the past few years made it their mission to secure all the electricity substations in the streets in this western part of the city. Using funds raised they’ve been able to install alarms in electricity boxes and to secure them with a secure locking system. They’ve also worked with local security companies to ensure that roving patrols are alerted when there is security problem. The project has been highly successful. There have been no break-ins to the substations that have been secured. This has helped to reduce unplanned outages. It’s also made the area less of a target for criminals and given residents a greater sense of being able to take action rather than to be at the mercy of criminals and a council that’s largely impotent to tackle crime more effectively.
What was the problem?
Days on end without electricity, or so-called unplanned power outages, have become the ongoing nightmare for many residents across Johannesburg. Many of these power outages are caused by theft and damage and vandalism to substations. The locals of Florida, on the West Rand were not immune to this spike in crime to electricity infrastructure and the knock-on effects.
According to City Power, in the 2022/23 financial year, the utility recorded more than 320 incidents of cable theft and vandalism in the city.
By 2022, Florida’s unplanned outages because of constant theft and vandalism of their substations made Florida and surrounding areas one of the worst hit in the city (for that year); and it made headlines.
Added to this, the power outages from vandalised electricity substations meant that the already stretched local municipality and City Power had to find funds, resources and manpower to constantly repair or replace stolen infrastructure and parts.
How did they solve it?
The community used their established “block watch” structure to float the idea of securing the substations in 2022 themselves. Having an active and visible neighbourhood group meant they had good standing to approach the community of residents and businesses to back their idea.
Florida Block Watch (FBW) identified a team within their group to manage the project. In addition to reaching out to the community, the team had to negotiate with and create good working agreements with the City Council and City Power. FBW came up with a sticker system to identify that the substations are secured under agreement between City Power and the Florida Block Watch. Contact numbers for queries and key access via City Power are also printed on the stickers.
By mid-April 2024, FBW had completed work to secure 40 mini substations and were in the process of raising funding to do the security upgrades to the remaining 12 boxes in their area.
Since starting the project, they’ve had no crime incidents at the secured boxes.
So how did they do it:
- They built and maintained a strong, local civic organisation – in this case the Florida Block Watch. This made it easier to introduce and lead a smart way for communities to contribute to securing City Power’s mini substations.
- They nominated a strong team to manage the project.
- They used local security service providers who have vested interests in maintaining stable security and safety in the area.
- They created strong channels of communication to update, inform and motivate community members to become involved and also to contribute to the project.
- They kept media informed and updated. This gave attention to the success of the project and grew people’s confidence in the project. It also allowed council to see “outside validation” of the value of collaborating and supporting community-driven initiatives.
Get your community involved
Is there a community-driven group or caring business in your area? A dedicated group of committed people can effectively solve local problems.
Think about starting or joining community groups like a street WhatsApp group, residents' association, or community policing forum (CPF) to get help and to stay informed and involved in local issues.
Know your rights – how local government works
It’s important to understand how your local government works so that you can work with them to support what they are doing while your community continues to keep them accountable and deliver services on time. Remember you have a constitutional right to many of the services provided by local government, as well as to accountability and transparency, wherever you live and regardless of how much you earn. It is also where money collected from taxes and rates goes.
Acknowledgements
Author: FixLocal Reporter
Original articles/ sources:
City Power and communities ramp up security to protect mini substations in
www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2023-09-24-city-power-and-communities-ramp-up-security-to-protect-mini-substations-in-hotspot-areas/#google_vignette
Florida Blockwatch (FBW) Community Forum
https://floridablockwatch.co.za/about/
Parts of Florida plunged into darkness after vandalism at substation
www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2022-11-02-parts-of-florida-plunged-into-darkness-after-vandalism-at-substation/
Photograph: The Citizen
Johannesburg
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