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Select Committee on Economic Development Impact of Cable Theft on Economic Development

Select Committee on Economic Development Impact of Cable Theft on Economic Development. BACKGROUND. Cable theft is not only a South African phenomenon, but it has become an international challenge.

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Select Committee on Economic Development Impact of Cable Theft on Economic Development

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  1. Select Committee on Economic Development • Impact of Cable Theft on Economic Development

  2. BACKGROUND Cable theft is not only a South African phenomenon, but it has become an international challenge. Countries like the UK, USA, China, India, Russia, Kenya, Nigeria etc. have in the last few years experienced sharp increases in cable theft. As an example, in the UK, British Transport Police, the force that maintains security on the rail network have stated that reducing cable theft is one of the highest priorities, only countering potential terrorist threats, ranks higher!

  3. BACKGROUND • Renewed focus on cable theft stems from the cost this theft has on the economy. • This concern is echoed by the three most affected industries, i.e. Electricity, Telecommunications and Rail.

  4. EFFECT OF CABLE THEFT In 2010 an estimated R265 million of copper cables (only capital cost) were stolen - indirect cost to the economy is estimated at about R5 billion per year! This is related to the following impacts; negative investor perception of South African, power/communication/transport outages that result in poor productivity, damage to business and other infrastructure during or after the theft, huge replacement cost of stolen copper cables and the cost of security to protect cable infrastructure.

  5. EFFECT OF CABLE THEFT cont… • Electrical cable theft can result in the loss of an earth point or cable, and can cause death to innocent humans and livestock, as well as causing serious damage to electrical appliances, • The loss of a communication cable in rail operations can cause serious accidents between trains or at railway crossings e.g. Gautrain disruptions; and • Stolen telecommunication line can be the difference between life and death in an emergency situation if there is no telephone communication.

  6. CRIMINALIZATION OF CABLE THEFT • These crimes are conducted by organized crime syndicates, but cable theft is still regarded as a petty crime (criminals are caught and released by SAPD), • Harsher penalties for cable thieves need to be implemented, to ensure it's not easy to benefit from copper theft, • The whole chain of this crime needs to be broken, including the export of these metals, to countries such as Korea, China, India and United Arab Emirates; and • The problem is not likely to cease as long as non-ferrous cable metals prices remain sufficiently attractive to would-be thieves.

  7. MITIGATION MEASURES • A combined effort is required to fast track the reduction of the problem and to drive a wedge between non-ferrous cable metals price increases and the comparable increases in cable theft by: • electric, communication and rail transport utilities, • lawmakers, • scrap metal dealers, and • local law enforcement • Various electricity, transportation and telecommunica- tions legislation and relevant regulations could possibly be amendment to ensure that cable theft is regarded as a serious crime

  8. MITIGATION MEASURES (CONT..) • In addition to the weaknesses in our legal system to combat this crime, some other factors are also contributing to the increase in this crime; such as limited control over second hand scrap metal dealers, lack of basic information and experience by law enforcement officials regarding cable theft and movement of such goods, weak custom control measures and poor inspection measures of containers. • The Second Hand Goods Act needs to come into effect as soon as possible with the promulgation of the associated Regulations. In addition, the legislation must also be extended to make it an offence to have in your possession non-ferrous cables without a permit

  9. Mitigation measures (cont..) • Due to the nature of this crime and the sophistication of these syndicates they have established themselves nationally, as well as internationally - a special crime prevention unit is proposed to focus only on non-ferrous cable metal theft , • Local law enforcement that includes SAPS, traffic officers, customs control officials, must be trained to become more responsive with regards to cable theft and collaborate to recover more stolen copper and arrest those responsible, • Awareness campaign needs to be launched to make the general public more aware of cable theft and the establishment of a “cable theft prevention” toll free number for reporting of potential cable theft activities

  10. Thank you

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