Tshwane metro in ongoing struggle to combat cable theft
'Stolen copper worth R500 million leaves the country every month.'
The Tshwane metro has developed an action plan to combat the ongoing scourge of cable theft in the north of Pretoria, it has said.
“We are appointing a service provider for security personnel to guard and patrol our assets including substations, transformer stations, reservoirs and treatment plants,” said Tshwane MMC for infrastructure and utility services Darryl Moss.
Moss said the city had also formed a task team with mayors from other municipalities and other interested parties such as the SAPS, Gauteng provincial government and customs.
“Issues also include upgrading the second-hand goods act, inspection and control of scrapyards, among others.”
New technology services including the use of beams, cameras, alarms, rapid response and access control were also in the pipeline.
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Moss said the city hoped to see a massive reduction in the copper cable theft that led to power outages.
This comes after local residents have complained of suffering multiple power outages recently.
“The past four to six weeks we have had power failures every single week,” a Doornpoort resident told Rekord.
“Power usually goes down at 2:00 in the morning and mostly on a Friday night. It usually stays off for about 12-16 hours,” he said.
Hettie Steyn, another resident, said: “We are now sitting without electricity for the fifth time in two months – all as a result of cable theft.”
“How much longer can we go on like this before the city finally intervenes?” she asked.
Power outages, due to cable theft, were also reported in the Amandasig and Chantelle areas in April.
Customs said as much as R500 million worth of stolen copper left the country each month.
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