Stolen copper exported from CT

Tag : Non-ferrous Metal
Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance says that metal theft iscosting the country around R5bn a year, and the party is callingfor a variety of measures to be put in place to bring the figuresdown.
According to Hendrik Schmidt, who speaks for the party on mineralsand energy, the primary costs of the theft - particularly of coppercables for electricity and telecommunications transmission - is notthe most devastating economic loss.
Replies to parliamentary questions have shown that Eskom has lostR439m through cable theft in the past 14 years. Telkom has lostR760m during five of the past eight years. Figures for 2004/05/06were not given.
The six metropolitan cities lost R72m from cable theft in 2007.
"A vast amount of money is fruitlessly spent on replacingcables that are frequently stolen again," Schmidt said at amedia briefing in Parliament on Thursday.
"The money could have been spent on research and development,on training or community social investment."
But the secondary costs and tertiary costs are not so easilycalculated.
Costing businesses
These are the costs businesses have to pay when operations aredisrupted because of cable theft.
"Stolen cable can effectively shut a business down,"Schmidt said, "sometimes permanently."
Equipment worth tens of thousands of rand can be damaged throughthe failure of an electrical supply.
There are no exact figures either for what the party called thetertiary costs of cable theft. Companies such as Eskom and Telkomare increasingly under pressure to hire security guards to fenceoff sites and install additional security measures to combat theft.
Telkom, for example, spent R100m a year on such security measuresand paid out more on television campaigns.
Schmidt suggested that primary, secondary and tertiary costs"are probably in the vicinity of R5bn a year".
The DA urged the fast tracking of the Second Hand Good bill whichregulates the dealers and would enable police to shut down dealerstrading in stolen goods.
The party is also calling for increased control of exports ofnon-ferrous metals.
The DA reckoned that 3 000 tons of copper is exported through CapeTown harbour each month, despite the fact that we have minimalreserves of copper in the country. This translates into R15m ofstolen copper leaving the country each month.
The DA also wants to see the re-establishment of a specialistpolice team to concentrate on metal theft.
The party observed that the cost of the theft of non-ferrous metalis not only measured in rand but also in lives. Children have beendying after falling down manholes when covers have been stolen.
- I-Net Bridge