The country has been battling ongoing vandalism on public infrastructure for some time now.
A bag of copper cable recovered in a joint police operation to clampdown on crime affecting the country’s railway network on 11 September 2020. Picture: @SAPoliceService/Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – With suspects arrested in connection with the theft of copper cables on the country’s railway lines, Cabinet is calling on South Africans to be more vocal about the crime.
The country has been battling ongoing vandalism on public infrastructure for some time now.
This has led to unreliable trains, ballooning costs in repairs, and sometimes, even the loss of life.
Cabinet has been at pains to explain that public infrastructure is the cornerstone of driving South Africa’s economy.
The executive body has welcomed the arrest of suspects involved in the theft of copper cables and train signals in Johannesburg and Cape town, which are among the hardest-hit cities in the country.
Earlier this month, authorities apprehended a 48-year-old man in Pretoria who was found in possession of copper and electrical cables worth R500,000.
The arrest comes as local government officials in Cape Town mull replacing all copper cables with aluminium cables, with the hopes this will lead to a decline in the theft.
While Cabinet was happy with the arrests, it said that South Africans also had a role to play in holding those responsible to account.
