Cable theft, vandalism, reach R1.3 million per day

The revelation came on the back of a question by the DA’s San-Mari Wait, who petitioned Mayor Mhlonishwa Masilela over the profitability of cable thefts, not only for the thieves but for the scrap metal dealers that keep the cycle going.

Mayor Masilela did clarify that the desktop search that was conducted did not only include cable thefts affecting residential areas, but inclusive of all other electricity reports on that day, including damage to street lights, high mast lights, circuits, switching stations and other electrical faults.

He said the actual losses fluctuate daily, according to the number of crimes committed, and that the R1.3 million estimate was just a ballpark figure to illustrate the actual impact of cable thefts on local taxpayers.

Mayor Masilela, however, acknowledged the crippling effect of load-shedding combined with vandalism and theft of infrastructure, noting that unreliable electricity supply negatively influences investor perception, while water quality and availability is compromised, as well as loss of appliances, revenue, perishable produce and loss of business and production, all at a huge cost to the municipality, and ultimately taxpayers.

According to Mayor Masilela, it’s impractical to place an exact figure on daily losses, but yearly losses can be determined with a full analysis, which may take months to complete.
No contractors were paid for operational services in March and April this year, due to the fact that the budget for outsourced services was exhausted during the prolonged labour unrest.

The mayor again highlighted the current installation of a remote self-switching system which will enable the electrical department to exempt certain areas from load-shedding.
The mayor said theft and vandalism were not contained to any certain areas, though the majority occurred on service cables for households

The cost of household service cables is, however, low, compared to network costs.

Cases are reported to the SAPS, but due to the number of thefts, and the consequent restoration of affected services, some cases are omitted.

Mayor Masilela says the beasts feed each other, with stolen copper driving up the buying price of the metal.

The first citizen again called on members of the community to assist with guarding infrastructure, especially during blackouts, as well as reporting incidents where suspects can be identified.

Community involvement has already reaped promising rewards in Hendrina, where FF+ councillor Corrie Wolmarans started a load-shedding patrol, guarding essential infrastructure.

During Tuesday’s sitting, he told the Middelburg Observer that since the patrols started more than a month ago, not a single incident of vandalism or theft has been reported, despite attempts the patrols successfully thwarted.

The courts have also already adopted heavier sentencing guidelines for essential infrastructure tampering, which is a countrywide cancer.