Copper cable theft in the Western Cape to be discussed at key industry forum

Issued by IIR

13 Sep 2012

The introduction of the new Second Hand Goods Act is one of the most significant developments taking place in the fight against copper cable theft. This is according to Bernard Maguire, Executive Member of the Metals Recycling Association and Sidney Arnold, General Manager Network Operations at MTN.

Both Maguire and Arnold agreed that there needs to be more awareness and training where the Second Hand Goods Act and copper cable theft in general are concerned.

Rens Bindeman, Technical Advisor at the South African Revenue Protection Association (SARPA) says that the two major developments are, "the fact that so many SAPS members were sensitised this year regarding the impact of this type of crime on the country and how to combat it [and] also a dedicated police official has been appointed at each police station to focus on the second hand dealers."

Bindeman also highlights three other crucial elements which need to be in place in order to effectively combat cable theft: "the training of all judicial personnel to effectively prosecute copper theft cases in court; effective measures to effectively control non-ferrous exports; public participation and the help of the media."

Maguire, Arnold and Bindeman are all speaking at the Copper Cable Theft conference taking place in Cape Town on 6 & 7 November 2012, organised by the Institute for International Research. This event follows on from the successful Copper Cable Theft conference held earlier this year in Johannesburg, which was attended by key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.

For more information please contact Katia Selibas on +27 (0) 11 771 7227 or az.oc.rii@sabilesk, or visit www.iir.co.za/coppercabletheft.