City guards against theft with upgraded railing in Berea
Scrap metal theft has been an ongoing issue - one example being guardrail theft along the N3 Highway in Berea.
AFTER more than a year, guardrails along King Dinizulu Road have been replaced – a welcome sight in a ward plagued by scrap-metal theft for the past few years.
Concerns were sparked in May 2021 when Glenwood residents spotted a man stealing guardrails. In the months that followed, additional rails went missing along the busy road on both the eastbound and westbound carriageways. At the time, resident Moya O’Donoghue said the issue was ongoing. Now, O Donoghue is glad to see new railing being installed.
“I’m elated to see that the stolen metal road barriers have finally been replaced with new poles – a great solution. Although, sadly, two months ago, a section of railing on the bridge spanning Cato and Bellevue roads went missing, and the section was held together with red-and-white tape, presenting a danger for pedestrians,” she said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Man steals metal guard rails on King Dinizulu Road
Widespread theft has impacted several areas. In March 2022, nearly a year after O’Donoghue reported the guardrail theft on King Dinizulu Road, 40 metal railings were removed from piers at New Pier and Wedge Beach, and a further 10 railings were missing from North Beach Pier. Months later, in July, runners from Stella Sports Club highlighted ongoing copper theft in the area which rendered streetlights useless.
Scrap metal theft has been an ongoing issue in the broader eThekwini area for years. In December last year, 2.2 tons of copper cable, valued at R3m were recovered when authorities raided a scrap-metal dealer in Phoenix. Five suspects were arrested during the compliance operation headed by the Economic Infrastructure Task Team (EITT).
ALSO READ: Dark roads a danger to runners
In a statement released at the time, SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said, “A search at the premises led to the discovery of copper cables which were stashed in the back of a bakkie. More copper cables were found concealed under a weighbridge in the premises. A large quantity of the recovered copper cables belonged to Transnet, eThekwini Municipality and Telkom, as positively identified by relevant officials who formed part of the inspection team. The value of the recovered copper cables was estimated to be approximately R3m.”
The eThekwini Municipality was not available for comment at the time of going to press.
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