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Cable theft is 'murder'

Farzana Rasool
By Farzana Rasool, ITWeb IT in Government Editor.
Johannesburg, 19 Aug 2011

Cable theft should be made a serious crime, says energy minister Dipuo Peters.

Addressing the Infrastructure Development Cluster (IDC) briefing yesterday, Peters said the offence is currently regarded as petty crime, but this needs to be changed.

She said the department had recently written to justice minister Jeff Radebe to suggest cable theft be classified as a serious offence.

The department added that copper theft cost the country approximately R100 million last year, excluding the indirect costs incurred due to the disruption the theft caused to the economy.

"A person who steals the copper is a murderer, a thief and a saboteur," said Peters, according to the Government Communication and Information System. She explained that without power cables, basic services including emergency medical operations are threatened.

Chairperson of the IDC and minister of transport Sibusiso Ndebele said eight people were arrested while stealing copper cable from the ERPM mine in Boksburg, on Wednesday, 17 August.

“We are in discussions with the departments of police and justice to intensify the fight against cable theft, which is sabotage. This market must be closed. This also affects other departments, including energy and water.”

Economic sabotage

This comes after the Gautrain was crippled due to cable theft twice within one week.

The Gautrain's operator this week said it cannot fight against copper theft alone, but needs the backing of government and other authorities.

Government needs to implement harsher penalties for cable thieves and must make sure it's not so easy to benefit from copper theft, said Errol Braithwaite, executive at Gautrain operator Bombela Concession Company.

“The actual cost of lost copper is negligible compared to the knock-on effect of the loss of service. When copper is stolen, whether it's from the Gautrain or City Power, the real loss is of productivity for the economy,” noted Braithwaite.

Gauteng MEC for roads and transport Ismail Vadi said the cable theft in this situation is not only a criminal act, but an act of economic sabotage.

He also called on law enforcement agencies not to consider this a petty crime.

Xhead = Weak controls

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) says copper theft in SA has hit its lowest mark in a year-and-a-half.

It says its Copper Theft Barometer registered R14.37 million in June 2011, the lowest since January 2010.

The barometer measures and monitors copper cable theft in the country on a monthly basis. Copper theft so far this year amounts to R105.56 million.

Factors that contribute to the difficulty in combating non-ferrous metal theft include weak export control measures and poor inspection measures of containers, says SACCI.

It adds that increasing longer term price of copper and increasing demand both domestically and internationally make theft a lucrative illegal business.

SACCI in February reported that cable theft in SA cost Eskom, Transnet and Telkom R259 million in 2010.

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