MEC welcomes scrap metal trade ban
The ban was put in place after Cabinet approved a set of policies to limit and regulate waste trading and stop metal theft
KZN Cogta applauds national government for moving quickly to make illegal the trade in scrap metal.
Cogta MEC Sihle Zikalala believes this will assist in stopping criminal elements from destroying municipal infrastructure in the province, which has cost hundreds of millions of rands and hurt the economy.
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“With this decision, which was made public last Wednesday by Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel, criminal gangs that steal and pillage important infrastructure that provides services like electricity, water, and sanitation will be hit hard, as they will no longer have a market to trade the stolen electricity cables and other components,” said Zikalala.
“The ban was put in place after Cabinet approved a set of policies to limit and regulate waste trading and stop metal theft, which hurts the economy and public infrastructure.”
Zikalala explained that the new initiatives show how committed the government is to stopping the theft of public infrastructure.
“We continue to collaborate closely with the sphere of local government to ensure the necessary safeguards are in place to protect public infrastructure that is used by so many people daily,” he said.
“The trade in stolen cables and metal places an unbearable burden on our municipalities, as they already have limited resources and are sometimes forced to sacrifice other service delivery priorities to replace stolen material.
“We are sure the government’s action will make it harder for organised crime groups to steal public property for profit,” he said.
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