Cable thieves have unleashed a reign of darkness in a sleepy North West village, with 90 cases reported since December.
North West police said since the beginning of December, 90 cases of cable theft in Moruleng village, near Rustenburg, have been reported at Mogwase police station to date. On average, a case of stolen cable was reported at the police station every two days, making Moruleng the area with the highest number of stolen copper cables reported in the whole province.
But local ward councillor Solomon Manganye blamed Eskom for failing to curb the ongoing theft.
Manganye said whenever suspects appeared in court , Eskom did not help to ensure the successful conviction of the culprits.
"We have even established CPFs [community policing forums], but the problem is that whenever someone is arrested, nobody comes to court.
"That is where we need Eskom to come to the party as complainants, but they do not do that," Manganye said.
According to Moses Kotane local municipality, theft of cables led to more crime. "Our street lights were stolen, resulting in most of the places being very dark," said acting municipal manager Pogiso Shikwane.
He said criminals saw the darkness as an opportunity "to commit other crimes".
"We have been hit hard by cable theft, because one drum [of copper cable] costs a little over a million [rand], now imagine if many of them are stolen. We are engaging with Eskom to find ways to deal with this matter," he said.
Police spokesman Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said alcoholics and drug users stole, then sold, cables to feed their habits.
"Places such as Moruleng and Manamakgotheng are mostly affected," he said.
Eskom said most households were left in the dark by criminals who, under the cover of darkness, cut the cable at the pole and incision point at the house, then stole the cable.
"In the Rustenburg and Moruleng area, 124 house connection cables have been reported stolen [to Eskom] in the past three months," Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said.
"We have formed a task team with the local municipality and SAPS to curb this theft. House connection cable theft in Moruleng is the highest in North West."
Resident Pinky Ralesego said three households within a 1km radius, including her own, had their cables stolen in one day. "These people are making our lives difficult," she said.
Phasiwe said Eskom loses more than R2-billion a year due to electricity theft.
"The losses suffered by the country as a whole, including municipalities, is estimated to be at least double that figure," he said.
Phasiwe said Eskom was looking into using aluminium cables for house connections as opposed to copper cables.
He said in the past financial year, 18 suspects appeared before various courts across the country on charges related to electricity theft.
Since the launch in 2010 of Operation Khanyisa, an Eskom awareness initiative aimed at curbing electricity theft and illegal connections, more than 60 court cases have been heard and over 112 arrests made for crimes relating to electricity theft across South Africa.
selebim@sowetan.co.za
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