WE have often found it quite peculiar that while Tshwane is not a major producer of copper, it seems to be one of the largest market places for the sale and trade of copper.
Of course the explanation for this is due to the high incidence of copper theft in the city.
Seeing as we have been hit by another wave of cable theft we thought it befitting to address this now as many of our residents have suffered power outages, particularly those in region 3 and 4.
We wish to apologise to the residents of the city who have been subjected to rolling power outages because of thefts that have targeted our infrastructure. We are dealing with them as best we can with the resources available to us.
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.
It is because of all these power outages owing to cable theft that we will be meeting with the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg as well as the Executive Mayor of The City of Ekurhuleni so that we may find a coordinated manner in which to deal with the scourge of cable theft that has befallen our metro municipalities.
Jointly we hope that we will be able to lobby national government to form a crime intelligence task team to solve this matter.
The city manager has also made an official request to the city of Ekurhuleni to use a Regulation 32 to procure goods and services that can help us in the fight against cable theft.
The continued menace of cable theft calls for the joint efforts by local, provincial and national governments working with communities to deal with this social ill. The incidents of cable theft are not only costly to the municipality but create unnecessary inconveniences for both the city and its consumers.
Extraordinary measures and interventions are now required to curb, control, manage and eradicate this disruptive and undesirable phenomenon.
In South Africa, cable theft is a pertinent issue especially in the province of Gauteng. As the commercial hub of the country, the Gauteng province offers many opportunities for cable theft.
The theft of cables has the potential to hamper the sustainable provision of services such as transport, communication, water and electricity. It affects the quality of life for residents and hampers local economic development as well.
There are well organised criminal syndicates operating throughout the country. The syndicates target the electrical networks of major infrastructure such as railway networks, electrical substations and water treatment plants.
In the City of Tshwane our assessment of these incidents indicates that there is an active attempt to destabilize the city’s administration.
As such the cable theft unit in TMPD has come under increasing pressure. The unit is employing proactive measures such as physical guarding and patrols to curb cable theft.
The incidents of cable theft are shocking to say the least. From November 2017 to date, the city has experienced at least 1 498 instances of cable theft and vandalism. In some regions it has been far worse than others.
The City of Tshwane loses millions a year to cable theft and there seems to be no coordinated plan by law enforcement agencies at national level to deal decisively with this issue as policing of this nature falls squarely within their ambit as distilled in the Constitution.
While the City of Tshwane has modest law enforcement capabilities, like any other municipality, it is not empowered by current legislation to deal with what appears to be a cable theft syndicate across our municipalities.
It is therefore critical that the Minister of Police, National & Provincial Police Commissioners, MEC for Community Safety and municipalities work together to come up with a comprehensive and workable plan to drastically reduce cable theft, jail the culprits and move towards assisting us in providing reliable services to our people who need it no matter the party politics of the day.
The reason why cable theft practices flourish is because there is a market for this stolen commodity.
We cannot, therefore, target only those that steal cables but we have to know where the material ends up and who is buying it.
This requires crime intelligence which sits in the SAPS.
Buyers have a responsibility to ensure that the material they are buying is not stolen property by insisting on the relevant documentation to see where the cable comes from.
Often, we find that the buyers are in cahoots with the thieves as they buy from them at prices below the market price. Buyers purchasing this stolen property will not be spared and will too be subject to the law.
Progress in this regard is being made. While not yet perfect, we are working around the clock to ensure every day less and less of our services are being interrupted by criminals.
We are also giving renewed focus towards crime prevention and by-law enforcement.
In the Inner City we have created a dedicated multi-disciplinary task team that is systematically tackling the issues associated with urban decay.
They meet on a weekly basis and conduct operations continuously in problematic areas to keep the pressure on those violating the city’s by-laws.
Making the city safer and ridding it of all illicit activity is a key priority of this administration. With our newly hired police chief at the helm we are encouraged by the efforts that have been made by TMPD in building a safe and secure city.
