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MBABANE – In a space of one year, the Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC) lost about E40 million due to copper wire theft.

The above costs were lost in the process of replacing the stolen copper wire.

This was confirmed by EPTC Managing Director Themba Khumalo, who stated that replacing the stolen copper wire was costly.

Khumalo said when calculating the value of new copper cable for replacements in the previous financial year, April 2021 to March 2022, it amounted to E40 million.

He made an example that when 20 metres copper was stolen, upon replacement it took up to two kilometres to refurbish. “The replacement cost for the copper wire is expensive and could be five times more than what is stolen in terms of costs,” said the MD.

Solutions

When questioned on how the corporation intended to curb the theft of copper wire as it was costly, he stated that they were getting rid of the copper wire to use alternative solutions. He said they had new solutions, while others were already being used but expensive, adding that they had no choice but to move away from copper cables and align with the rest of the world in using new technologies. Khumalo stated that they would now be using wireless fibre to deliver services to consumers without copper.

“We have started using the alternative solutions to replace the copper wire but the damage is huge and many areas have been affected,” he added. Currently, Khumalo said they were sorting the systems and equipment to try and address those that were affected.

He stated that they had tried so many interventions to curb the theft of copper cables, including guarding it and installing alarms but it did not work.

Painful

The MD further mentioned that it was painful to invest in something that had already been completed, which became a wasted investment. He said they were losing revenue through the copper wire theft as they could not bill customers, while they had not received any service but instead credit customers.

Also, he mentioned that customers were inconvenienced by the copper wire theft as they could not work remotely, get emergency assistance and were basically out of communication, which was not a good situation.

Khumalo said the copper wire theft was a challenge facing the corporation and the nation at large, hence the need to work together in curbing the theft.

He stated that the implicated syndicates were part of the community and needed to be reported.