What is believed to be a criminal syndicate is ripping into the Lucky Bean Crescent electricity infrastructure in well-organised cable theft heists.
These brazen attacks on electricity infrastructure have been described as a disaster and destruction of ratepayer lives.
This small community in Morelata Park east of Pretoria along Delmas Road has been besieged by cable theft that causes prolonged power outages.
The cable theft incidents occurring two or three times a week have left electrical infrastructure in ruins, with repair bills skyrocketing and ratepayers reeling.
Residents of Lucky Bean Crescent have been suffering from frequent power outages caused by cable theft.
On average, the ratepayers must wait nine hours for the power to be restored. This has been a major disruption to their daily routines and quality of life.
According to statistics revealed to Rekord, the residents have experienced more than 35 cable theft incidents since the start of the year, resulting in 251 hours of power outage.
These recurring incidents have been a significant burden for the residents in the area.
The leader of the concerned residents who did not want to be named said the theft of cables in the area has increased exponentially.
He preferred to be addressed as Mr John (not his real name).
John acknowledged that the Tshwane metro is doing everything in its power but said more resources needed to be made available through the Anti-Cable theft unit.
“The patrols which are being done are not adequate to further deter or permanently stop the thieving of cables.”
John said fixing the stolen cables every time is too costly for the city, and a permanent solution to stop the thieves is needed.
He suggested that the city increase the presence of law enforcement in the area by conducting regular patrols for a few weeks, which could deter the criminals.
John also pointed out that the community has formed action groups to patrol the area, but the issue is too big and well-organised for them to handle on their own.
He said that the city needs to allocate more resources to combat cable theft effectively.
John said ratepayers are badly affected, especially this winter.
“When there’s a power outage, there’s an element of danger as our security systems are off, our motor gates are not operational.”
He said the quality of life is affected almost every day as the thieves attack two or three times a week.
“Fridays and Thursdays are the days they attack more and this is a destruction in our lives. There are elderly people who require oxygen machines to breathe which need electricity, our appliances are getting damaged. We cannot bathe as our geysers are off most of the time. Some people who have boreholes cannot pump water so this scourge is affecting us in so many ways,” he said.
He said the thieves mark their territory.
“Along the lines where the electricity cables are the perpetrators leave markings on the fence next to the cable lines, then later they hit.”
John said all that is needed is law enforcement, more resources, co-ordinated operations and fighting back.
“The residents want to take matters into their own hands now and it is very dangerous for them. The thieves are armed and if the law enforcement doesn’t come to the party, people will get hurt and the metro will bleed to this syndicate.”
According to the stats, January has been the hardest-hit month followed by March and June. Fridays are the most targeted days followed by Thursdays and Mondays.
On March 13, thieves stole cables, they hit again on the 14th, 15th and 17th leaving a trail of darkness and exacerbating the city’s struggle to restore power.
In March the cable thieves struck four times in just five days, targeting the already suffering residents with a relentless campaign of theft and disruption.
Ward 91 councillor Henning Viljoen said replacing lost cables since last year has been a burden on the city.
“The cost is very high as sometimes they steal 70m long cables and on consecutive days so this becomes a problem.”
Viljoen said the action groups in conjunction with private security and CPF are also doing everything but said this is a well-managed orchestrated syndicate.
“CPF and security do patrols but it is not safe for them, the culprits are heavily armed and ruthless.”
Viljoen said they have been in discussion with the city, national intelligence and security structures to devise a plan to tackle this issue.
According to Viljoen, advanced technological systems will be employed.
“With the approval and help of national intelligence, we will install high coverage cameras to cover the stretch where the cables are always hit. This is for improved visibility.”
He said approval as well is awaited on the installation of motion sensors to cables so that when they are touched, security can respond.
He added there was a plan to replace the underground copper cables with overhead aluminium ones.
“This will be a great deterrent for the brazen attacks but it is waiting to be approved and should it be, it will be implemented starting in September.”
Viljoen said he understands what the residents are going through and will continue to work hard to find a permanent solution.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said for the financial year 2023/24, a total of 41 theft incidents were reported in the area and repair work cost the city R3.6-million.
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Mashigo said the Tshwane metro police have been deployed to patrol the area to combat theft and vandalism of infrastructure.
“Tampering with electricity infrastructure leads to loss of revenue for the city, which is tantamount to economic sabotage and customer frustration. [It causes] unplanned power supply interruptions as well as loss of integrity due to unreliable service delivery caused by these acts of vandalism to the city’s infrastructure.”
Mashigo said the metro has applied for permission to convert the underground cable to an aluminium overhead line at the cable theft hotspot on Delmas Road.
“Should the approval be granted, the project is planned to be executed before the end of 2024,” Mashigo concluded.
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