Subscribe

Royal Security mum on copper theft


Johannesburg, 28 May 2010

The security company at the centre of a copper theft scandal has refused to comment on a growing list of allegations levelled against it.

This is despite a law enforcement body bolstering the case of fraud and theft.

Royal Securities CEO Magesh Moodley yesterday afternoon refused to comment on the increasing number of accusations.

He said the company's director, Roy Moodley, is the only person able to make a statement to the media on the matter. Roy Moodley is overseas until 7 June and will be unable to comment until then.

The company's silence follows new information that the Northern Johannesburg suburb of Linbro Park has also been a victim of severe copper theft. Residents and law enforcement members in the area have fingered Royal Security in the matter.

The new allegations are also likely to strengthen the case against Telkom employees pinned to the centre of the scandal.

Telkom is investigating whether high-level management staff colluded with hired security companies, paying for services that were never delivered and possibly taking a cut of the payments.

Wireless worries

Nico Nel, the community policing forum (CPF) head in Linbro Park, says the forum has made several complaints against staff of the security company and met with hostility over the matter.

Nel says a few years ago the area was stripped of every last meter of its copper cable, and alleges that this occurred only after Telkom hired Royal Security to protect the copper in the area.

Telkom has since decided not to reinstall copper in the area, and most residences and businesses now have to use mobile Internet services, or Telkom Wireless. Linbro Park is an up-and-coming Johannesburg area, including all three of the major metro zonings, industrial, corporate and residential.

A Linbro Park resident, who asked not to be named, has confirmed the details presented by Nel. He says the copper was even being blatantly processed in plain sight on plots in the area. According to the resident, thieves would strip the copper of its insulation and roll it up, despite the patrols implemented by the security company.

He says the businesses in the area are now battling with connectivity and are watching the current ADSL broadband boom pass them by. “We cannot take advantage of the new prices, because we can't get ADSL.”

Slow going

According to Nel, he approached both Telkom and Royal Securities several times, with little or no help from either.

One other area in Johannesburg has also been stripped of its copper; however, the CPF chief for the Vorna Valley area, Leverne Young, could not directly link anyone to the trouble.

She says Telkom has been slow to respond to the problem, and many of the residents have been set up on Telkom Wireless. “Because this is a wireless solution, residents in the Valley are struggling to get a decent signal,” she adds.

However, she says Telkom has been working directly with the police on the matter.

On the other hand, the Pretoria CPF says it has had no trouble with the security companies hired by Telkom.

Forensic evidence

Telkom could not be drawn on the matter, except for the information it has already presented to the media. However, it says the accusations are being taken seriously and the forensic investigation will look into these kinds of issues.

The company undertook an internal audit when the first accusations surrounding its choice of security companies was questioned, and two of the company's employees have been implicated.

Telkom says some of the recommendations revealed in the report from the audit have been implemented. It has since hired a forensic investigator to look into the allegations.

SA's fixed-line giant has already sustained heavy losses from cable theft and the security associated with its increase, and can little afford to fork out more than is required. However, Telkom says if the staff members are implicated by the forensic report, it will take action.

Share