While welcoming the recent raids, on illegal Shakaskraal scrapyards hoarding stolen cable and cell phone tower batteries worth millions and the arrest of four men – industry stakeholders believe decisive action should be ongoing and intensified to cut out cancer destroying local infrastructure before it is too late.

Ihawu Lethu Association Chairperson Craig Slevin said they have been working together with Saps, Z2 security and other law enforcement agencies to assist wherever they can to ensure law and order prevail and crime is weeded out of their area.

“We are pleased to see the support of specialised units in prioritising and policing infrastructure theft which has been prevalent in our area.

“Infrastructure theft has a direct impact on the Ihawu Lethu area, Ihawu Lethu covers about 45000 hectares.

“It incorporates the bulk of the farming area between the Tongaat River in the South and the Umvoti River in the North.

“The area is flanked by the N2 on the East and Upper Tongaat and Glendale heights on the West.

“Borehole and pump cable theft leave farms and small holdings without critical water supplies while repairs and replacement equipment are sourced, never mind the financial losses.

“Even cane chains are being stolen off sugar cane stacks, which significantly impacts farming delivery operations,” said Slevin.

He said electrical cable theft along power lines, as well as at substations and switch rooms, resulted in costly electrical outages.

Loadshedding adds to the problem as it is easier for thieves to cut cables while there is no current.

Railway lines are also rich harvesting fields for cable thieves, resulting in the suspension of train services.

Transnet communications coordinator, Khululwa Magazi, said Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) had experienced an exponential increase in cable theft over the last five years, during which time more than 1 500km of cable was stolen (a 1 096% increase), with a financial impact of R4.1-billion.

“Transnet cannot solve this on its own as law enforcement, intelligence gathering and prosecution fall outside our jurisdiction. TFR firmly believes the introduction of railway police and the judiciary meting out harsher punishment will go a long way in reducing crime across the network.

“While cable theft is now widely reported, we routinely see vandalism of other critical rail infrastructure such as damage to substations, relay rooms and signalling systems. This has a devastating impact on the efficient running of the network,” said Magazi.

She said it costs Transnet about R15 million – excluding labour and the cost of lost volumes – to replace a burnt-out substation supplying electricity to the line, as experienced in the north corridor in the last financial year. A further R35- million is required to refurbish a vandalised relay room which houses the train tracking system.

Freight Rail chairs the Infrastructure Crime Forum (ICF), a forum facilitating collaboration with other state-owned companies and other industries impacted by the theft of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

In addition, coal customers have provided additional specialised task teams and drone technology to supplement existing security resources in the north corridor since October last year, with good results.

Rachelle Bezuidenhout of the Mental Recyclers Association of South Africa (MRA), said about 3.5 million tons of bona fide scrap metals are moved in South Africa every year, most of it coming from the mining, manufacturing and construction sectors.

About 90% of this consists of iron and steel scrap with a domestic value of between R2.50-R4.00 per kilogram.

About 3% of this volume is copper scrap, with an average unit price of R100 a kilogram.

About 300 000 informal sector people make a living selling recyclable materials, of which scrap metal is the most popular. In response to the government’s intention to ban the export of scrap metals for at least six months, Bezuidenhout said this would mean surpluses would not be exported, creating an over-supply and prices falling further.

These are already relatively low as a consequence of existing government trade policy.

“This will not only threaten the sustainability of many operators in the recycling sector but also reduce revenue collection by those sectors generating scrap metal.

“For example, factories which produce scrap as offcuts will receive less for their scrap, even though they are paying the full price for the steel sheets and other metals they use in their manufacturing. It also means that informal collectors, if they are allowed to continue operating, will receive less income.”

She said the government was also looking to require all sellers of scrap metals to register and submit monthly reports, which would prohibit the regularised recycling sector from trading with informal collectors, who in turn will not be able to comply with the registration requirements.

“The impact will be devastating and the MRA will endeavour to encourage the government to find a more workable solution that will not marginalise this sector. It appears to be a case of regulating the law-abiding fraternity in a futile attempt to catch the illegal operators.”

But Bezuidenhout said the MRA agreed that the government’s intention to ban cash payment for scrap metal was positive.

“This will introduce a traceable record of who has sold scrap metals, disrupting those engaged in illicit activities. However, the government envisages this may take 24 months to implement, and the MRA would prefer this measure to be implemented immediately.”

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