The municipality is very worried about cable and other theft of municipal property in its area of jurisdiction. It is currently in the process of implementing a variety of measures to try and curb the relentless campaign by thieves who stop at nothing to steal copper cables and other essential material from the various pump stations and sites around town.

According to the municipal spokesperson, Mr Louis Bobodi, the municipality has been forced to rethink its position regarding the unabated cable thefts over the past few months. The criminals clearly do not care in the slightest about the monetary losses to the municipality or the inconvenience to the town’s residents when the water supply is interrupted for days on end. According to Mr Bobodi, the “theft is not only measured in terms of replacement, but in consideration of service disruptions resulting from this vandalism”. The cost of replacement is therefore very high.

The last time Zoutpansberger reported on cable theft, the municipality’s replacement stock had run out and cable had to be fetched from Polokwane. This is because the stock kept on hand does not cater for replacement because of theft, but only for normal maintenance and replacement of consumables. Since this kind of cable is of high quality and takes some time before normal wear and tear necessitates replacement, it is understandable that the municipality does not necessarily keep large quantities in stock.