Cable thieves hit Pretoria North – hard
Despite measures such as greasing street poles to prevent cable thieves from climbing up them, the suburb of Pretoria North has been hit hard by cable theft this month.
Despite the use of measures such as greasing street poles to prevent cable thieves from climbing up them, the suburb of Pretoria North has been hit hard by cable theft this month.
This was after more than 10 cases have reported been in the past 30 days.
On Wednesday night, the neighbourhood was once again targeted when a large number of cables were stolen in Wonderboom and Deetlefs streets.
Despite patrols and police investigations, no arrests have yet been made.
PRETORIA NORTH SECTOR 2 DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON CPF NIKKI DE JAGER SAID THE ISSUE IS FRUSTRATING
“We cannot be everywhere all the time, patrolling with the limited resources at our disposal.
“This problem can only be solved if everyone takes a stand,” De Jager said.
“We can’t let prolonged outages become something normal.
“We need permanent solutions.”
Thieves use load-shedding as cover to steal the cables, according to local ward councillor Dehan Harmse.
“I’m going to meet with the TMPD cable theft unit.
“Unfortunately, load-shedding is a big issue. It is a national problem, which gives the culprits the time to cut the cables.
“The streetlights are all dead, which means that they have all the freedom they need to cut down the cables,” Harmse said.
Another concern was that some of the cut cables lie in the streets. When power is restored, they pose a hazard as they are live and can cause an injury or even death.
In the meantime, residents have to cope with unplanned power outages.
According to the Tshwane metro, replacing stolen cables and other electrical components is very costly.
“Our budget constraints pose a significant challenge to available resources.
“Cable theft is draining the city’s already drained pockets.
“It hampers service delivery to customers as it results in power supply interruptions,” said metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo
“While the City strives to repair the problem within a strict timeframe, it means resources aimed at other service delivery aspects have to be compromised.”
CABLE THEFT FALLS UNDER THE TMPD AND THE SAPS.
Mashigo said the city places a high priority on cable theft.
He said cable theft falls under the TMPD and the SAPS.
“Our units will put a strategic plan in place to clamp down on this issue.”
Mashigo urged residents to report any suspicious activities around the city’s electricity infrastructure to the TMPD on 012 358 7095/6 or to the SAPS.
ALSO READ: North residents grease poles to fight cable theft
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