Bring in the army! City Power wants military to help fight cable theft crisis

City Power has reportedly asked police commissioner Lt-Gen Fannie Masemola to help stop cable theft and protect its infrastructure.

Parts of Johannesburg‘s inner city were filled with smoke this week after underground cables caught alight. The fire led to power outages in several parts of the city and alarmed residents.

Cable theft was alleged to be behind the fire, with City Power security also having to later exchange gunfire with informal settlers who were attempting to steal the burnt cables.

Watch a video of the chamber where the fire was believed to have started:

Johannesburg Emergency Services are expected to assess the scene of a fire on the M1 highway in Johannesburg before handing it over to the city to begin repairs and restore power to affected areas. #JoburgFire #M1HighwayFire #JHBTraffic #Johannesburg @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/MrXdMIcWZr

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Dockets destroyed in fire at Barberton Police Station [VIDEO]

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The Joburg power utility said it had seen rising cases of theft and vandalism of its infrastructure. It has now requested more help.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Cutter, cellphone and 200 degrees heat: Inside the fire that darkened Joburg

The Sunday Times reported that City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava had written to Masemola to ask for police and military intervention.

In the letter she reportedly warned that if left unchecked, the city’s power supply would be completely destabilised by vandalism.

She also claimed no police were on the scene of the fire. She said the utility’s security team had to deal with potential theft and violence alone.

The cost of vandalism for City Power

Mashava tallied the cost of theft and vandalism of City Power infrastructure for the current financial year so far at R160 475 253.  

Spokesperson Isaac Mangena has previously said illegal connections, cable theft and vandalism of transformers were among the biggest issues.

ALSO READ: Look out below! We live in cities stolen piece by piece

Nine men were arrested in March for cable theft and tampering with essential infrastructure in Johannesburg.

4,633km of cable stolen in three years

Earlier this year, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan revealed that 4 633km of copper cable had been stolen between the 2020 financial year to the end of October 2023.

A GI-TOC report, entitled South Africa’s Illicit Copper Economy, reported last year on the extent of cable and copper theft.

ALSO READ: Criminals are now ‘smoking’ stolen fibre cables

“Every day in South Africa, criminal elements strip copper from wherever they can find it, including roads, homes, construction sites and mines.

“The theft of copper from already ailing infrastructure severely affects the capacity and operations of state-owned entities and municipalities,” it found.