JRA fights back cable thieves
Operations manager, marketing and communication of Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), Bertha Peters-Scheepers, shares their solutions for the trend of cable theft in Johannesburg.
Reports of cable theft and vandalism within traffic lights gained major attention after a social media post showcased the aftermath of the crime that occurred on Marlboro Drive (M60).
The visuals of the post indicated that criminals had used a cutting tool to extract the cables from the traffic lights. As described by the operations manager, marketing and communication of Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), Bertha Peters-Scheepers, the trend has been on the rise as of late.
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“The Woodmead intersection, like many others, was affected by criminal syndicates who take the advantage of the increased load-shedding so that they won’t be electrocuted. They use angle grinders to cut down the traffic signal poles to access the copper cables.”
According to Scheepers, the damage caused by the syndicates all over Johannesburg, roughly costs R15 million to repair per year.
She mentioned that soon, reports of criminals stealing copper from cables will deplete due to new legislation from the Department of Trade and Industry.
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“One intervention that we are grateful for is the fact that the Department of Trade and Industry and Competition has propogated law in November 2022 stating that the export of copper and copper alloys scrap has been banned for six months. That is the first step in the three-phrase approach in eradicating the ongoing problem. If there is no demand for copper in the market, it won’t be stolen.”
The Marlboro Drive intersection will be repaired in a couple of days as stated by Scheepers.
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