City continues fight against cable theft
“In March and April we noted a decrease in the crime but May was bad again."
The Tshwane metro’s intensified fight against cable theft in Pretoria has paid off.
But last month was bad as thieves again gained an upper hand, according to MMC for infrastructure and utility services Darryl Moss.
“In March and April we noted a decrease in the crime but May was bad again,” he said.
Last week a private security company arrested guards who were aiding cable thieves.
“But it seems the message has not yet impacted on the criminals,” he noted.
He said the Tshwane metro police [TMPD] were also hard at work against the thieves.
Spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said: “TMPD is working very hard to curb cable theft.”
He said the TMPD’s intensified effort was not only aimed at reducing the number of power outages caused by cable theft but to also reduce the amount of money the City lost as a result.
Last month, TMPD made a “major” when stolen cables worth an estimated R500 000 were found.
Mayoral spokesperson, Samkelo Mgobozi, previously told Rekord that mayor Solly Msimanga had met with the mayors of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni to come up with a plan to tackle the problem the three metros jointly faced.
During his budget speech, Msimanga had said: “Cable theft needs a comprehensive and coordinated effort in order for us to ensure that we can provide sustainable and reliable electricity and water supply to our people.”
He said it was peculiar that despite Tshwane not being a major producer of copper, it seemed the largest market for the sale and trade thereof.
Msimanga said combating cable theft would require a joint effort from the local, provincial and national governments.
“Extraordinary measure and interventions are now required to curb, control, manage and eradicate this disruptive and undesirable phenomenon.”
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https://rekordnorth.co.za/129641/cable-theft-leaves-parts-pretoria-dark/
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