R 10 000 reward to help clampdown on cable theft
The war on cable theft is a top priority for the DA-led multi-party Tshwane administration.
Giving effect to this, Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, today announced that he will be offering a R 10 000 reward to anyone who can provide information that can lead to successful conviction of the perpetrators of the crime. This includes both the delinquents who steal the cable and buyers of such material.
012 358 4903 is the dedicated number to call to provide credible information on the cable theft syndicate in our city.
Msimanga explained that the reason why cable theft practices flourish was because “there is a market of this stolen commodity”.
“We cannot, therefore, target only those that steal cables but we have to know where the material ends up. 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.”
“Cable theft threatens the provision of reliable and sustainable provision of services to our people as evidenced in many of our communities across the city. said Msimanga.
In addition to the reward on successful prosecution of suspects, the City has established a dedicated anti-cable theft unit to have proactive and reactive interventions at electrical substations, cable trenches and main feeders. The unit also has targeted operations at second hand dealers in order to curb the sale of stolen nonferrous metals.
In a recent example of the negative repercussions of cable theft, Ga-Rankuwa residents are currently experiencing a power outage due to the theft of control plant cables and batteries at the substation early this morning [21 September 2017]. The matter is receiving attention from the City and Eskom team.
The City strongly condemn the theft of cables, as it leads to service interruptions and costs the City a minimum of R5 million a month.
The Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department has made significant strides in the recent past to curb cable theft and will continue to work diligently to bring an end to this criminality. Members of the community are again urged to become active agents and report cases of crime in their areas.
Customers affected by power failures are urged to report this by texting the word “power” followed by their account number to 44676. Alternatively, report a power failure through our customer care call centre on 012 358 9999 (choose the electricity option), or visit www.tshwane.gov.za and follow the Report Power Failure link, or visit any of the regional walk-in centres.