Mayor Herman Mashaba has unleashed his ‘war on cable theft’ around Johannesburg on 6 September, which has led to a series of successful arrests.
It has been reported that cable theft in the inner city has resulted in the loss of R15 million. “We must be clear that these cable thieves operate in organised crime syndicates… The work of combatting these syndicates requires a… dedicated unit with the knowledge, skills and networks to be effective,” he said in a media statement.
We have made four more arrests today and unearthed a tremendous amount of stolen City resources. #WarOnCableTheft #MashabaInAction pic.twitter.com/EbDJHadzwm
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) September 6, 2017
The scrap yard we inspected today has been officially sealed off as a crime scene, suspects in court tomorrow. #WarOnCableTheft ^NS pic.twitter.com/ndwtoDuy5V
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) September 6, 2017
Thank you to General Sibiya's team for their hardwork. Also to the MMC's in my office for accompanying me today. #WarOnCableTheft pic.twitter.com/G9acuqSvdq
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) September 6, 2017
According to the City of Johannesburg, the stolen infrastructure worth R15 million was sold for R400 000 on the black market. “The criminals who steal our copper cables sabotage our economy and our City, leaving businesses and homes in the dark, costing ratepayers a fortune and robbing resources from service delivery,” said Mashaba.
“It is estimated that 45 per cent of the power outages in the city are caused by cable theft.”
The entire inner city is without power as we speak, the stolen cables amount to a R15 million loss for the city #WarOnCableTheft ^NS pic.twitter.com/JdaxolkCie
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) September 6, 2017
R15 million worth of city infrastructure was stolen and sold for R400 000 on the black market #WarOnCableTheft ^NS
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) September 6, 2017
This is the first scrap yard with stolen city infrastructure, we've identified 2 scrap yards, will inspect both #WarOnCableTheft ^NS pic.twitter.com/AX3gRAoWhj
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) September 6, 2017
