Cable theft and infrastructure vandalism across South Africa is costing billions of rands and, if not reduced, will lead to a slower economic recovery.

The persistent challenge has led to R7-billion a year in direct losses for Telkom, Eskom, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and Transnet, with a R187-billion knock-on effect to the economy.

The CEOs of the four companies joined forces to combat infrastructure and cable theft in 2020 and are developing a national cable theft prevention strategy to assist government.

There is also a coordinated effort among law enforcement agencies and the companies to address the growing problem.

Telecommunications, electricity and rail infrastructure ensures that vital services are delivered, and day-to-day tasks are completed.

“Vandalism and theft exacerbate the problems that face the already ailing South African economy on a macro level, as well as a large proportion of the population that needs to participate in the digital economy,” said Telkom Group outgoing CEO Sipho Maseko.

The CEOs agree that each act of theft or vandalism threatens the country’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, as the companies provide essential services to keep the economy and business moving forward.

The South African economy is driven by intersectoral business dealings and interdependencies, meaning that the loss of production in one organisation may affect many others.

These crimes undermine the national effort to improve services, quality of life and create jobs.

“We have established a joint working group to have this problem dealt with as a priority. This means working closely with law enforcement agencies and other key roleplayers, in developing new security measures and tightening regulations to make it difficult to trade in stolen cables and critical infrastructure in general,” said Maseko.

The joint working group welcomed the increased efforts of the police and the Hawks to crack down on copper theft syndicates, including the recent arrest of two KwaZulu-Natal police officers who were allegedly part of a cable theft gang.