Residents living and driving along Jan Smuts Avenue are feeling a bit on edge this week after spotting a mess on the pavement.

Someone has ripped up the manhole covers, leaving broken paving stones and chunks of concrete scattered about.

One heavy cover was found lying on its side while another was dumped nearby, leaving a gaping hole in the ground.

Naturally, this has everyone worried that cable thieves have started targeting the area.

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David Caseiro, the area manager for the security company Beagle Watch, said he could not be one hundred percent sure if this specific mess was definitely down to theft, but he has noticed a sharp rise in cable theft over the last year. “I am not sure about the theft or damages of the manhole covers. Perhaps they get money for it if it is metal. However, since last year, there has been a serious spike in cable thefts,” he said.
Caseiro pointed out that the criminals seem to know exactly what they are doing. “These criminals steal the cables; strangely, all have access to that special tool to open the manholes,” he explained.

He did not want to make wild guesses, but he did wonder where they got the equipment. “I don’t want to speculate, but I am sure they might have someone on the inside who helps them to get the tools, unless they are stealing them,” he said.

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Bea Campbell-Cloete, the stand-in councillor for Ward 102, said, “Anything that is metal can be sold for scrap metal. Unfortunately, we do have some scrap metal buyers that will buy these without asking questions,” she said. She added that this was the first time she had seen such an incident in this particular ward.

Even though we do not know for sure if this damage is linked to cable theft yet, people are scared that it is the start of a bad trend.

In other parts of Randburg, missing cables and broken equipment have led to power cuts, traffic jams, and safety hazards. An open manhole is also a proper danger to anyone walking past, especially when it is dark or during load-shedding when the streetlights are out.

The authorities need to look into this and make the pavement safe again as soon as possible. In the meantime, everyone should keep an eye out and report anything suspicious around these manholes to the police or the council.

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