Drastic measures considered to curb cable theft 

Government is planning to crack down on rogue cable thieves. It is estimated that the direct costs of copper cable tops R100million but the knock-on costs for the country through lost economic activity is in the order of R15bn a year. This follows the second interruption in a short period of time through the theft of cables at the multi billion Rand Gautrain rail service and the subsequent plea for help from the operators of the prestige rail project.

Addressing the media in Parliament on 18 August, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said her Ministry tabled a proposal to elevate cable theft from being a petty crime to a serious economic offence.

The Minister said, "A person who steals cable is a murderer, a thief and saboteur, because without telecommunications and without electricity, health services, education and all the necessary services come to a halt". Currently a person found guilty of cable theft can receive a sentence ranging from a modest fine to imprisonment for a few months.

The Minister emphasised that cable theft affected a number of government departments and impacted on essential service delivery as well as impacting negatively on the economy. There was clearly a case to be made for the need to start calculating the costs to the economy and the lives of people. She indicated that this was why she had written to the Minister of justice to amend the legislation to ensure that it no longer remained a petty theft issue. 

National polices spokesperson Vish Naidoo confirmed that cable theft was a major concern all over the country.

Pieter Rautenbach