Cable theft skyrockets: union

By Christelle du Toit for Telkom
Johannesburg, 15 Aug 2008

Since outsourcing the protection of its copper cabling, Telkom's losses to cable theft have shot up by 92%, says a Telkom union. However, Telkom denies this.

According to the SA Communications Union (SACU), the move impacts not only the company, but could lead to more heads being put on the "chopping block" in future.

"Since they moved that expertise away, copper cable theft has skyrocketed," says Jannie Volschenk, SACU assistant general secretary and Western Cape organiser.

"The SACU members that used to work in that field had gotten to know the inner circles of the criminal elements that deal with stolen copper, and moving them away has left a definite vacuum."

Earlier this year, Telkom said it would spend in the region of R100 million on protecting its copper, which is proving attractive to criminals due to high international copper prices.

This function was outsourced to Royal Securities as part of Telkom's greater reorganisation strategy, called a capability management process.

The services Royal Securities provides Telkom with include proactively alarming critical cable routes, and using armed guards.

Nabintu Petsana, Telkom's acting group executive for corporate communication, says the repair cost due to copper theft at the end of July 2008 stands at R58 million, versus the R87 million recorded for the same period during the last fiscal year. She did not disclose the replacement costs of copper theft in this period.

"The number of cable theft incidents, also calculated for the period mentioned, is 4 247 for the current term, as compared to last year's 6 950 incidents," she says.

"In light of [these] statistics, Telkom stands firm on the strategic decision taken with regards to cable theft and the manner in which it engages external service providers to assist in combating the crime. In the company's view, its realignment, of applicable units within the business, is beginning to yield the desired result and it will remain consistent in its commitment towards the eradication of the negative impact caused by copper theft."

This is in contrast to statements made earlier this year.

In May, Petsana said the company was reviewing its strategy on cable theft and the way it engages external service providers to assist.

Millions in losses

During the 2007 financial year, Telkom lost at least R571 million to cable theft. In response to a question posed in Parliament, communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said the company spent R197.5 million on replacing copper cables and a further R5.5 million on fibre cabling. The revenue loss due to this theft was estimated at R368.1 million.

Yesterday, the South African Press Association reported that more than R66 000 worth of copper cable had been stolen on Wednesday and Thursday alone, in Mpumalanga.

Over the past weekend, a number of international media houses, based in Johannesburg, were cut off from the world, allegedly also due to cable theft.

Volschenk says not only is cable theft costing Telkom millions, but it will make it all the harder for the union to negotiate "decent" salary increases for its members next year.

"It means more people's jobs could be outsourced and more heads could be on the chopping block in the long-run," he says.

SACU represents about 6 000 workers within Telkom.