Who is stealing our country’s petrol?

The Hawks are investigating the possibility that an international syndicate is responsible for the sharp increase in the theft of petroleum from Transnet’s 3,800km long pipeline system.

This pipeline system, a national key point, is of critical importance to the economy, as it supplies petroleum and crude oil to the entire country.

But just like what happened with taxpayers’ possessions at other SOEs, crime syndicates have realised that the army and the police don’t have the resources needed to protect the pipes.

Since 2019, more than 10 instances of theft of millions of rand worth of petroleum from the pipelines have been reported.

Taxpayers only became aware of this theft when 40 homes in Alberton on the East Rand had to be temporarily evacuated, when a fire broke out at the pipe plant next door to them during a failed robbery.

This specific line runs between Durban and Johannesburg.

Thieves have targeted this line several times since 2014.

In the previous financial year, seven incidents were reported. In total, more than 500 million litres of petroleum were stolen from the national system, but not a single person has been caught or charged in connection with the theft.

Transnet chairperson Dr Popo Molefe is deeply concerned about the increase in theft from the lines.

Transnet has started using sophisticated technologies and drones in an effort to protect the lines.

Several people have been arrested over the past two weeks in connection with the theft of petroleum, but the masterminds behind the syndicates are still MIA.