Cost of copper theft still unacceptably high
In 2010/2011 Telkom lost R382.72 million in repair and replacement costs related to copper cable theft. This information was revealed today in a reply from the Minister of Communications, Dina Pule, to a Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary question relating to the annual costs of copper theft (see below).
Copper theft impacts our economy as a whole, trickling down to affect economic growth, productivity and job creation. Indirect effects also include poor service delivery and productivity, which ultimately hit poor South Africans the hardest.
Today's reply revealed the following figures regarding the annual cost of copper cable theft from Telkom during the relevant financial years:
- 2006-07: R340 million
- 2007-08: R332 million
- 2008-09: R422.35 million
- 2009-10: R424. 39 million
- 2010-11: R382.72 million
These figures suggest that copper theft continues to be a highly coordinated and professional crime, and are particularly troubling given that they do not include the losses in revenue caused by copper theft. Information from the department has shown that in 2008/9 alone, outbound revenue losses amounted to R906.8 million.