Water shortage cable theft – inside job

THE THEFT of power cables that triggered widespread water shortages in Gauteng two months ago was an inside job.

This emerged yesterday when a City Power investigative unit bust four men with 120km of copper valued at more than R8 000 following a tip from a scrap metal dealer who had raised suspicions about the cables, because they were marked.

According to City Power, the men confessed to being behind the cable theft at the Eikenhof pumping station that left suburbs in Joburg, Pretoria, Ekurhuleni and West Rand without water for weeks.

The suspects, aged between 30 and 50, apparently live in an informal settlement in Eikenhof. “They conceded that they’re part of a syndicate that’s actively involved in the theft of (power) cables, and took City Power investigators to hot spots that they’ve targeted,” said City Power’s spokesman Hloni Motloung, who also revealed that the suspects fingered four of City Power’s contractor employees who provide them with information on vulnerable areas and equipment.

City Power MD, Sicelo Xulu, said that cable theft hemorrhages the economy over R5-billion annually. City Power recorded almost 3 000 such incidents annually, costing Joburg R30-million a year.

Xulu said the Association of Electricity Municipalities of Southern Africa is lobbying to have cable theft classified as economic sabotage.