MASSIVE theft of copper cable and other components of the public infrastructure remain both a menace and inconvenience to the public, while posing an inestimable cost to the country's economy.

The impact of the scourge is invariably felt nationwide as disruptions of phone, electricity and railway systems become a daily phenomenon.

Train delays have become as much a common occurrence as damage to networks belonging to Telkom and Eskom.

Worse, scrap metal thieves also target public water systems in search of copper.

In the Limpopo town of Musina, bordering Zimbabwe, water supply is often disrupted as illegal immigrants steal water pump cables to sell in their native country.

Disappointingly government response has been lethargic . Prioritising this type of crime is long overdue .