Johannesburg - The City of Joburg has welcomed the sentencing of a cable thief to eight years in jail.
City Power suffers at least R2 billion in non-technical losses, which includes cable theft and vandalism, which cause huge damage to infrastructure and result in power outages for residents in numerous suburbs.
City of Joburg member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for environment and infrastructure services, Mpho Moerane, has welcomed the eight-year prison sentence handed to a copper cable thief in Turffontein.
The thief was arrested in April last year by community members, who found him with electrical copper cables, while trying to steal more.
He was charged with tampering with infrastructure and cable theft.
Last week, he was handed eight years of direct imprisonment for the crime.
Moerane praised the community for protecting the infrastructure against vandals and assisting in the arrest of the thief.
“We welcome the stiff sentencing handed to this thief, which we believe fits the crime committed. The problem of vandalism and theft of copper cables is a serious one, which disrupts normal life and economic activity in the city,” said Moerane.
Towards the end of last year, there was an increase in the number of power outages, mostly caused by cable theft in the city.
The MMC urged residents to take ownership of the infrastructure and report any vandalism and theft of copper cables to City Power security or the SAPS.
“The residents of Turffontein took matters into their own hands and ensured this thief does not succeed in his evil ways. We commend them for protecting the infrastructure.
“We urge Joburg residents to report vandalism and theft of the infrastructure. More so because when this infrastructure is vandalised, the inconvenience is felt by the same community,” added Moerane. |
The Star