Copper theft may rise soon

The level of copper theft in SA dropped in August, despite the Gautrain being crippled by the crime twice within one week in that month.

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) yesterday released the results of its copper theft barometer for August.

The barometer registered a level of 15.84 in July and fell to 14.9 in August. The barometer remained below the average R16 million and R18 million a month, which was the dominant range for 2010.

“The figure of 14.9 for August 2011 suggests a more contained level of theft in accordance with the fall in the copper price from almost $10 000 in July to below $8 000 in August,” says SACCI CEO Neren Rau.

However, he adds that recent market reports indicate the copper price is recovering. “The magnitude and pace of recovery will determine the responsiveness of the barometer in reporting higher levels of theft.”

The latest figures for export from SA of copper waste and scrap are for January 2009 to July 2011, according to SACCI.

These show a steady increase in the export of copper reaching a high of R387 million in July 2011.

“The National Prosecuting Authority continues to report progress in the arrest and prosecution of copper thieves. Such efforts would play a key role in containing domestic theft levels if the global copper price continues to recover,” says SACCI.

The Democratic Alliance says it is estimated that copper theft costs SA's economy R10 billion per year, hampering economic growth, productivity and job creation.

Cable theft is currently regarded as petty crime, but this needs to be changed and the offence should be made a serious crime, energy minister Dipuo Peters previously said.

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.

“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 Errol Braithwaite, executive at Gautrain operator Bombela Concession Company.

Bombela in August 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 Braithwaite.

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

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