Roads agency aims to crack down on infrastructure theft

Two suspects posing as Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) technicians were arrested and detained at Linden Police Station for the theft of batteries from traffic lights at the corner of Malibongwe Drive and Republic Road.

The agency’s Sanele Zondi said this was one of the city’s busiest intersections.
“Vandalism and theft are major causes of extended traffic signal outages, through the theft of copper cable, metal fittings, electronic components, UPS units and batteries. These activities are conducted by major criminal syndicates as well as opportunistic criminals,” added Zondi.

Power cable theft caused outages that took time to repair and according to Zondi, the agency had undertaken additional intervention measures to deal with this issue.

“To minimise the opportunity for theft and vandalism, the JRA has resolved to replace critical infrastructure with the material of lesser resale value. “For example, the aluminium and steel traffic signal heads and back boards have all been replaced with the nylon plastic types.”
Zondi said another key measure to tackle cable theft was through the use of cables with reduced copper content.

“Alternative cables such as the copper cladding aluminium cables, which have no resale value, were installed at high theft sites. These, however, cannot be installed at all sites as the cables are not very rugged and will break due to excessive bending,” said Zondi.
The agency continues to urge community members and road users to assist in combatting crime by reporting all criminal activity involving cable theft.

The Randburg Sun has contacted Linden Police Station regarding the arrest of the two suspects and awaits a response.

Details: City of Johannesburg Call Centre 086 0562 874, Crime Stop 086 0010 111.