Vandals are trying to make us look bad during G20 – Gauteng government

Gauteng government spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga alleges that there have been deliberate and coordinated efforts to sabotage repaired infrastructure and signage ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit next week.

This extends beyond the vandalism of G20 signage. The spokesperson said the Gauteng Provincial Government believes saboteurs are deliberately stealing cables from repaired traffic lights to tarnish the province’s image.

Mhlanga was speaking in an interview with Newzroom Afrika when he said that the provincial government meets weekly with the police force, and has mapped out a pattern of planned attacks on infrastructure.

Sabotage began to be expected following an incident where signage for the event was vandalised near Nasrec. 

“On the defacing of the signage, according to our security guards, two vehicles with four males came there, armed, and overpowered security, then proceeded to damage the signage that was beautifully put up there by our department,” he said. 

The police have initiated an investigation into this case. “The stuff that they have written on the signage shows that these people are educated and they know what they want to say.”

Additionally, Mhlanga stated that there is a pattern of newly repaired traffic lights and traffic signals being damaged by acts of theft, part of a ‘broader plan to tarnish the city’s image.’

The Gauteng Government has repaired 39 traffic lights leading up to the summit, and has plans to complete 10 more repairs in the near future. 

The spokesperson said that repairing one intersection’s traffic lights costs anywhere between R100,000 and R1.9 million, depending on the extent of the damage. 

By these numbers, the Gauteng government has spent a minimum of R3.9 million repairing the lights and up to R74 million; which does not include the cost of the 10 additional traffic lights that have not yet been repaired. 

“In most of the instances where we have since made the repairs, people are cutting them off and setting us back in the process.”

Good image for the world leaders

When asked how the Gauteng government determines that these instances of cable theft are acts of sabotage, rather than part of an ongoing problem with deteriorating infrastructure, Mhlanga said this was decided through discussions with the police. 

“The police tell us what they find when they go to scrap metal dealers. They tell us there are copper cables there and some of our metals,” he said. 

“These are things you wouldn’t normally find, because it is specialist equipment only for traffic signals.”

Mhlanga added that, to complicate matters further, the materials that are needed to fix traffic lights are not available in the country.

The materials must be ordered from overseas, and “it will take up to three weeks while we wait for that material to be delivered,” he said. 

The lead-up to the G20 leaders’ Summit, which begins next week, has been mired by controversy as multiple groups in South Africa hope to make their most pressing issues known to arriving global leaders. 

This is in an effort to pressure President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Government of National Unity (GNU) to act.

Trade union Solidarity erected large billboards and banners in Johannesburg on major airport routes, displaying the message, “Welcome to the most race-regulated country in the world.”

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi was quick to remove the signage, stating that it was not compliant. The union has promised to continue putting up more signs. 

Women’s rights group, Women for Change, have called for a nationwide shutdown the day before the global event, demanding that the president declare gender-based violence and femicide a national disaster. 

Anti-immigrant group Operation Dudula is planning to picket in the Nasrec area during the event, in an effort to draw attention to joblessness, rising crime and failing public services. 

The United States President Donald Trump has already announced that no representative from the US will be attending, accusing the South African government of discriminating against a white minority. 

Argentinian President Javier Milei has also reportedly decided not to attend the summit, according to Argentinian media outlets.