Coppers targeting copper thieves

The knock-on effect of power outages and surges caused by rampant cable theft is not only costing the country billions, but it is also threatening lives.

The “national crisis” of cable theft was the topic of an Institute for Security Studies seminar Tuesday, which brought together representatives from the Hawks, Eskom and the metro police in a bid to address the scourge that is taking its toll on the country’s economy.

In 2012, former police minister Nathi Mthethwa estimated that cable theft costs South Africa approximately R5bn a year, but on Tuesday one expert described this as a “very conservative” figure.

Leon van den Berg, an independent forensic investigations consultant and former Eskom employee, said he believed the real cost to the economy could be “much higher”.

Van den Berg said that a ton of copper could easily sell for R75 000 on the black market – a figure confirmed by several of the speakers. This, Van den Berg said, made it the most sought-after precious metal.

Copper is what fuels the cable theft, with the stolen metal being recycled for electrical wires and to create jewellery and chandeliers, among others.

Trish Armstrong, operational commander of the Tshwane metro police’s cable theft task team, said that last year the city paid out almost R200 million in claims related to copper theft.

Van den Berg said that the crime had socio-economic roots and that most of the stolen copper ended up at scrap metal dealers, where thieves exchange it for cash.

Gauteng was identified as the “hotspot” for cable theft by Gauteng Hawks head, Major-General Shadrack Sibiya. Sibiya said the organised nature of cable theft and the country’s porous borders created additional challenges for dealing with this particular crime.

“A lack of strict border control, especially at our sea and land borders, makes it very easy to smuggle and legitimately export illicit products,” Sibiya said.

He added that the financial implications for this particular crime were in addition to the danger it created.

“Many people are on life support and when electricity goes off, the machine immediately switches off,” Sibiya said.

He said that some of the thieves had also died in the process of getting their hands on the lucrative metal.

Senior consultant at the South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pietman Roos, added that emergency services were impacted by power outages caused by cable theft, with many people being unable to phone for help as phone lines were impacted by outages.

Roos suggested imposing better export restrictions and “sharpened” policing as possible solutions.

Van den Berg said that one way of decreasing the crime was to make cable difficult to steal, including by upping security at hotspots.

“You won't put this problem to bed, but you can manage it. As long as people steal for survival and as long as copper is R75 000 a ton, this thing will continue,” he added.