A crime consultative committee has been set up in Beit Bridge to deal with criminals vandalisng and stealing copper cables along the Beit Bridge-Masvingo highway and smuggling them to South Africa.

Villagers, commercial farmers and the business community recently formed the committee that has since partnered with the police and Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) officials to contain the rampant theft of power and telephone cables around the area. The chairperson of the committee, Mr Joseph Ndou, said they were concerned about acts of vandalism, theft and smuggling of stolen copper cables, adding that it affected the power supply and telecommunication in the area.

“We are working with the police and ZESA officials, and as a committee we have mobilised resources to engage in joint operations with the police and ZESA officials on a 24-hour basis. As the combined residents, business community and farmers living along the Beit Bridge-Masvingo highway, we are really worried at the rate which thieves are vandalizing telecommunication  lines and electricity wires to extract copper, which they smuggle to South Africa,” he said.

ZESA, which owns the equipment, is losing about R400 million in stolen copper cables annually.

Ndou said the move had started paying dividends as they apprehended four suspects believed to be linked to  a syndicate and they recovered copper cables worth R150 000. He added that the theft of power cables was also affecting farmers along the Bubi and Limpopo River who relied on electricity to pump drinking water for their livestock.

He mentioned that businesses operating tourist resorts along the highway were also affected by the theft of cables and were incurring losses as they were now forced to resort to using power generators for lighting, following disruptions of the power supply due to the theft of electricity wires. There are four safari lodges and a motel along the affected area, with each accommodating between 50 and 80 visitors per day.

He added that they were now appealing to the courts to impose stiffer penalties on criminals vandalizing the ZESA equipment, as it affects communication in the area.