POLOKWANE – THE Polokwane Municipality spends approximately R500 000 each month to replace stolen power cables, which amounts to the replacement of over 3km of cable each month.
This was confirmed by municipal spokes-person, Tidimalo Chuene, who said the municipality had been hit by a spate of cable theft incidents recently, resulting in severe difficulties to provide an effective electricity service to the people.
The hardest hit areas included Ster Park, Luthuli Park, Blood River, Makgofe and the nearby RDP settlements in the periphery of Seshego township most recently.
In one of the most recent incidents, 120m of electrical cable valued at around R60 000 was stolen in Ster Park.
Chuene said cable thieves, or izinyoka, as they are also referred to, employed the dangerous modus operandi of setting fire to live electrical wires before they cut them.
“Time and again, cable thieves had been electrocuted while trying to steal power cables,” she said.
“The municipality is appealing to all residents to report any cable theft incidents to the police as this crime often affects the provision of effective services,” Chuene said.
Extension 44 resident, Benedict Sibanyoni, who was a recent victim of cable theft, said the izinyoka stole cables and sold them to scrap-metal dealers.
“These scumbags operate late at night when everybody is fast asleep. In a split second they cut the cables from the poles and disappear into the bushes. We are pleading with the police to keep an eye on them.”
Seshego police spokesperson, WO Mothemane Malefo, confirmed that cable theft was rife in most neighbourhoods of the Polokwane Municipality. Malefo conceded that the police had not made any significant strides in arresting cable thieves.
“Cable theft is one of the dreaded crimes we have to deal with on a regular basis. It is for this reason that we are calling on residents to assist us in bringing perpetrators of cable theft to book,” he said.
Chuene urged residents to refer their electrical issues to the municipality’s energy service unit at (015) 290 2000/2490/2457/2458.
