Mayor onboard with police setting up team to tackle Pretoria’s cable theft issues

The Gauteng police commissioner has allocated a team consisting of seven units to Tshwane to operate on a 24-hour basis over four shifts, to fight cable theft in the metro.

Tshwane mayor Randall Williams welcomed the establishment of the team, which will be led by the SAPS Gauteng provincial commissioner’s office.

“Cable theft is a scourge across the country which causes significant damage,” he said.

As an example, he cited the Kloofsig substation which caught fire in December 2021 because of cable theft.

“We are fully on board with this anti-cable theft initiative and will coordinate our available resources to the team,” he said.

Williams said the new task team would help turn the tide against cable theft.

He said cable theft was a large provincial issue affecting municipalities such as Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg.

“Here in Tshwane, we have already established a dedicated anti-cable theft unit within the Tshwane metro police, so we welcome the additional support.”

Williams said the TMPD cable theft unit had several successful operations.

Despite this, cable theft syndicates were continuing to destroy infrastructure, leading to the disruption of the electrical power supply.

Over 2 300 patrols were held by the TMPD cable theft unit, leading to 45 cable theft arrests between January and May 18.

Tshwane safety MMC Grandi Theunissen said the unit consisted of about 60 TMPD members rotating shifts.

In April, the unit arrested six people for cable theft and tampering with essential infrastructure in Centurion.

One of them was found running away from the crime scene where he stole a cable that supplied streetlights to Nelmaphius and R21, while the other three were apprehended when they were busy trying to steal a cable.

Meanwhile, in the same month, a South African man and female suspects were also arrested in the Hercules area when they were found with stolen copper cables they were transporting to a scrapyard.

The value of copper cables recovered was estimated at a street value of R100 000.

Following an operation in April, the Tshwane West crime intelligence unit and the TMPD arrested four suspects at Mooiplaas squatter camp after they received information about a suspicious Ford Ranger bakkie driving from Centurion to the Mooiplaas squatter camp.

According to the TMPD, the vehicle was stopped; however, a suspect and the driver fled, leaving authorities to nab the other four.

“Their vehicle was searched and the officers found 50 metres of stolen copper cable with digging equipment.

“The stolen cable has an estimated value of R250 000.’’

In March, Tshwane metro police arrested three suspects for tampering with essential infrastructure.

This was after the cable theft unit members received a complaint about people who were busy with electricity reconnection in Pretoria West Luttig Street after the power was disconnected earlier by a Tshwane Ya Tima team.

“The officers went to the location and found three suspects busy with reconnections.”

In the same month in Akasia, a vehicle in which stolen copper cables were found was stopped by the TMPD.

The driver of the vehicle allegedly tried to offer a bribe of R5 000, according to the TMPD.

Theunissen said the arrests were improving in Tshwane as the metro was seriously dealing with infrastructure crime.

“There is a plan to deal with scrap metal dealers in the area pending legislation amendments,” he said.

He said the metro was further allocated R10-million to deal with cable theft.

They would use the budget for quad bikes to access various terrains and purchase equipment such as night-vision goggles among other useful tools.

Eskom’s safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) manager in Gauteng, Kith Maitisa, added that the theft of cables, overhead lines, transformers and conductors cost Eskom around R2-billion per year.

“Illegal electricity connections and cable theft often lead to prolonged power outages,” said Maitisa.

“This harms businesses, essential services, as well as the day-to-day lives of society. All this has a negative impact on the economy.”

ALSO READ: Five busted for cable theft in Cullinan

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