Thieves vandalise power sub-station
Stole cables worth over P53 000
Vandalism of a power substation 2200 in Block 10 in Gaborone left residents and businesses in the area without electricity recently.
Power utility, Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) says cables worth over P53 000 have been stolen from the sub-station. Last year alone, BPC lost more than P24 million due to copper wire theft and vandalism. Authorities say this does not only cripple the power utility, but also affects the economy negatively. BPC says the stolen cables make their way beyond borders, primarily to South Africa, via porous borders where there is a ready market for copper cables. In an interview with The Midweek Sun, BPC Customer Service Manager, Gift Pelaelo said they have been experiencing these incidents and they have made efforts to stop the vandalism but to no avail. Pelaelo said the act of vandalism of cables has always been there, adding that last week’s damage of power cables, which carry over 11 thousand volts to residents of Block 10 and neighbouring areas such as Block 8 and Airport Junction mall affected electricity supply. Pelaelo noted that the culprits also took a mini sub-transformer which has to be replaced. He highlighted that the cables are 300 metres long.For his part, BPC Intelligence and Investigating Lead, Lawyer Mooketsi said that they realised the vandalism on the 24th October last month after a BPC employee discovered the damage. BPC had also requested neighbors to be on the look in the area. Following an alert by some neighbours, two men were arrested on October 25 and are in police custody. They are expected to appear in court soon. Meanwhile, Gaborone City Mayor, Aston Abraham said vandalism is against their initiative of a safer city because where there is darkness, people’s lives are in danger. He urged Batswana to report cases if they have suspicions. He highlighted that his office will soon host a stakeholder engagement to come up with strategies to end cable theft as it affects the general power supply of the city.