Criminals are becoming increasingly violent when stealing cables in Johannesburg, putting lives at risk and compounding the country’s economic woes.
Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse has pleaded with the South African Police Service to help tackle sophisticated and well-armed gangs who target the city’s electricity infrastructure, theIt comes at a time when two security guards were killed in recent weeks by alleged cable thieves, heavily armed with AK-47s. “The increasing use of violence by the thieves is an ominous development,” the paper said.
“The criminals who steal our copper cable sabotage our economy and our City, leaving businesses and homes in the dark, costing ratepayers a fortune and robbing resources from service delivery.” City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the cable thieves were well organised and armed to the teeth with high-calibre firearms.
“We need SAPS on board as well as the intelligence cluster. I have written to the Presidency and the NPA because we need prosecutions and convictions as well,” the mayor said. “We cannot do this on our own and require inputs and resources from all spheres of Government, I have therefore appealed to [president] Cyril Ramaphosa, the National Prosecuting Authority and Gauteng Police commissioner, lieutenant general Elias Mawela to avail the highest level of resources to investigate and prosecute what is becoming a trend aimed at sabotaging Johannesburg’s already fragile infrastructure.
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