Cape Town - As MPs look to prohibit cash transactions at scrapyards, it has emerged that the City lost R3.4 million in two previous months to rampant vandalism and theft of metals and cables that are usually sold to scrap dealers.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel has announced that he will, from this month, initiate a policy that bars the use of cash when making transactions in scrapyards.
Meanwhile, the Cape Argus has seen two City of Cape Town energy reports detailing its losses to cable and metal theft and vandalism in June and July.
Despite paying R1.8m in June, the City noted “a large drop” in incidents that month. In July, it paid R1.5m, while in the financial year that ended in June 2022, the City said it lost a total of R50m.
The first report said: “Forty-five incidents of vandalism were recorded with photographic evidence in June; a large drop in all three areas (Area East, Area North and Area South). The cost estimate recorded here came to R1 882 469, mostly from two sub-stations that were burgled (Cinderella and Pollsmoor).
“Area East is the worst affected this month (June); Area North has dropped significantly again.”
Officials’ accounts of the 45 June incidents paint a dark picture of emboldened criminals who have sabotaged the network, cut and stolen cables, vandalised sub-stations and street light control boxes and, in one brazen incident, stole six poles and wires.
“At least one unnamed school’s connection cables were stolen. Copper cables running from a kiosk to feed Saxdown Road traffic lights in Kuils River were not spared either.
“Illegal connections in Mfuleni is making life very difficult for us (sic). They are now sabotaging our network by cutting all LV feeders,” an official said in the report.
Incidents of stolen 16mm cables appear more than four times in the report.
In these incidents, homes in Ravensberg Road in Newlands, Percy Road in Ottery, Denise Court in Parkwood, and another unnamed location, were left without electricity.
The July report pegged the cost of theft and vandalism in July at R1.5m. “Area East is the worst affected this month; Area North has dropped significantly again. The worst affected district was Parow. The worst affected equipment this month has been consumer cables.
“Vandals make use of loadshedding time and the middle of the night to remove power connections from individual homes.”
Mayco member for energy Beverley van Reenen said the crime is a citywide phenomenon.
“In the 2021/22 financial year, more than R50 million has been spent on repairing and replacing damaged electricity infrastructure in areas across the metro,” she said.
Van Reenen said the City has forked out a further R40m on security to curb the vandalism and theft. This is part of the approved 2022/23 budget.
The City is offering rewards and requests tip-offs. Van Reenen said the two reports were tabled on September 7 in the City’s energy committee.
Days before, during a National Assembly debate on the effect of infrastructure theft and vandalism on the economy, Minister Patel said that the cost of these crimes “runs into billions”.
He said his department was planning draft legislation to ban the use of cash in the scrap metals trade.
“The department will consider all proposals tendered in this debate to protect critical infrastructure meant to enhance economic growth and service delivery,” Patel said.
UDM chief whip Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said there was a need to teach the public that infrastructure belongs to them and that they should protect it.
DA MP Mathew Cuthbert said infrastructure is stolen faster than it is replaced.