Southbury residents say that cable theft in the area is getting out of hand and they have reached their wits’ end after two incidents of cable theft occurred in Ward 49 on 29 May. This time the theft of the cables caused three light poles to go down.
The incidents occurred simultaneously on Saturday at 5.30am-one in Southbury outside a church, and the other in Southvale. Residents also say that two cable thefts occurred in the past two nights. The community claims that in the past four years the whole of Southbury did not have streetlights working due to cable theft. “The municipality repaired the streetlights last week and now the problem has started again,” they said.
Speaking to Phoenix Tabloid, a resident of Southbury, Nolan Govender said at 5.30 am on Saturday morning he heard the dogs barking. “My wife and I went out to see what was happening. My wife stood at the top end and I stood on my driveway. We saw two men cutting the cables of the light poles and one man was standing guard whilst trying to silence the dogs.“
Govender said that he shouted at the thieves to stop but they ignored him and continued to cut the cable. “I shouted until the neighbours were alerted and came out of their houses. When the men saw the residents leave their houses to get onto the street, they ran away. But they made sure that they took the cables with them. A hole was dug around the pole and the cables were cut off. Three thick cables at the top point of the poles were cut causing three light poles to be down.”
Govender said that the cables are live and dangerous. “It’s on the main road and cables are loose. It could cause an electrocution. Dogs and children play around the area. One can see the point where the cables were cut. It is winter and gets dark quite quickly. Those who take public transport are afraid that they will be attacked in the early hours of the morning.”
A resident who wished to be anonymous said that scrapyards should stop buying copper from cables. “Scrapyards should insist on legitimate documents being produced prior to the sale of copper taking place,” said the resident.
Blue Security Response Officer said: “Contact was made with a resident who stated that three males were stealing the light pole cables. They fled upon seeing the resident. A patrol was conducted in the area. No suspicious activity was noticed. SAPS was despatched.”
The incident was reported to the Community Policing Forum (CPF). Phoenix CPF chairperson, Umesh Singh said that cable theft has been going on in the area for a long time. “A syndicate is operating in the early hours of the morning. The thieves know what they want and they are not afraid to go out and get it. They do the deed so quickly. When cables are stolen, it needs to go somewhere. We are following up on leads. To control this crime, it has to be a combined effort from the community, police and CPF,” said Singh.
He said that CPF teams are strong in Phoenix. “Even though we are experiencing a Coronavirus pandemic, patrols are still taking place and the CPF is interested in controlling crime in the area.” Singh said that law enforcement teams and the community are closing in on the cable thieves who work as a syndicate. “Smoke can be seen in quiet areas where the cable is burnt. We are closing up on them,” he said.
Singh said that the CPF and police rely on the community to come forward with information. “We are living in desperate times. The community need to report crime. The crime statistics show one thing but what is happening on the ground is so much more that national and provincial government are not aware of hence sufficient funds and resources are not allocated correctly to fight crime in Phoenix.
The community reported the incident to eThekwini Municipality. No comment was received from the municipality at the time of publication.
