Johannesburg - Guest-house owners in Polokwane, Limpopo, are infuriated over the surge of cable theft that has gripped the area and negatively impacted them, which they said plunged their businesses into financial losses.
Maria Schrader, owner of Destiny Inn Lodge in Dalmada, said she had been experiencing a loss of revenue that resulted in significant job losses. She said the situation was exacerbated by the ongoing load shedding.
“Cable theft is happening now about every two weeks and leaving us sometimes days or weeks without electricity. We experience a loss of revenue and that has caused a loss in jobs and a poor economy in the country. This has also affected my family, because I can no longer provide for them as I used to,” she said.
The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) has estimated that cable theft, which has been a major problem in the country, cost the economy between R5 billion and R7bn a year. Cable theft affects electricity, telecommunications, and transport sectors, and each year South Africa’s parastatals spend millions of rand replacing stolen cables and restoring vandalised infrastructure due to cable theft.
Schrader said for the problem to be resolved the government should ban the selling of copper wire to scrapyards. She said the police should also be deployed to guard the power stations.
“The same they do to poachers who are killing the rhinos… Our cables have been stolen for over 10 years, and now the situation is worse, it’s happening every second week,” Schrader lamented.
Cornel Vermaak, owner of The Village, said he was forced to send travellers to other guest houses. He said this resulted in his business suffering financially.
Vermaak said he also had to limit meals and beverages to guests, adding that following their agreement with Eskom, he was surprised that the power utility had not installed cameras at the power stations.
“All approved, but they would rather replace cables at great expense… This does not make sense at all. When cables are stolen, Eskom will have to repair and replace (them) and this can take up to 24 to 48 hours,” he said.
Polokwane Local Municipality’s DA caucus leader Jacques Joubert said some infrastructure belonged to the municipality and some to Eskom. He said both the municipality and Eskom needed to protect their infrastructure.
“The community needs to stand up and do their part, we need to demand that all stakeholders do their part and work together to curb this theft and sabotage. This cannot continue. Cable theft needs to get priority attention and dedicated units to address and fight such criminal activities,” said Joubert.
Without giving specific figures, Polokwane Local Municipality spokesperson Thipa Selala said the municipality lost millions of rand emanating from repairs and replacement of cables, and the loss of revenue annually.
“Unnecessary power interruptions due to cable theft have the same negative effect on the economy that load shedding has,” said Selala.
Selala said the industrial area and Welgelegen in the Bendor area were the most targeted. Another hotspot area is Westernburg, which includes the N1 South, lvydale, the Alpha Sand area and the N1 North between the international airport and ZZ2.
Asked who should take responsibility to protect the infrastructure, Selala said it was the responsibility of every taxpayer residing in their municipal area of jurisdiction.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Matshantsha did not reveal how much cable theft cost the province of Limpopo. He said the province was incurring a lot of revenue losses. Matshantsha said the financial losses to replace and install stolen infrastructure ran into millions.
“Eskom is mindful of the negative impact of supply interruptions to businesses. The challenge of cable theft is a national issue and Eskom is working closely with law enforcement agencies to address this concern.
“We continue to drive the initiatives listed above to minimise supply interruptions as a result of the vandalisation of our infrastructure and theft in the province,” said Mantshantsha.
“Eskom is the guardian of the infrastructure and it is our responsibility to protect the Infrastructure.
“With the assistance of law enforcement agencies, the SAPS, businesses, and the public, we can together combat the devastating impact that electricity-related crime has on the economy of our province,” he said.