The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the Sol Plaatje municipality to urgently appoint an independent investigator to probe metal theft within the institution, including links to the illegal scrap metal trade, and any internal networks that may be enabling these crimes.
This follows the arrest of six Sol Plaatje municipal employees, three of whom are believed to be electricians, in connection with cable theft in Florianville, Kimberley late last week. They were arrested after police recovered suspected stolen copper cables valued at just over R16 000.
The arrests raise serious questions about the extent to which criminality may have infiltrated the municipality and whether those entrusted with maintaining public infrastructure have instead been helping to destroy it.
The DA has consistently warned that cable and metal theft in Kimberley is not the work of isolated criminals. It is driven by organised syndicates with the equipment, networks and buyers needed to keep this illegal trade alive.
Last month, we highlighted the growing impact of metal theft on communities in Moghul Park, Floors, Homestead, Colville and Gemdene, leaving communities without essential services, damaging critical infrastructure, costing ratepayers millions, and leaving residents feeling vulnerable. Last week, the power distribution box on the corner of St Pauls and Barkly Road was burnt, leaving the community without power for two days. Last week, there was also a power outage in Floors/Ashburnham area due to vandalism of cables, where Sol Plaatje had to replace 120 meters of cable. Crimes like this happen every weekend.
If municipal officials are linked to these criminal activities, it helps explain why repeated calls for the municipality to act against unregistered second-hand goods dealers have not amounted to anything. Sol Plaatje municipality has repeatedly failed to enforce its own by-laws, allowing illegal operators to continue trading while communities pay the price.
These arrests therefore cannot be seen as an isolated incident, nor can addressing this matter be left to the police alone. It requires a dedicated effort by Sol Plaatje to probe criminality within its own structures.
The DA will closely monitor the criminal case, for which the bail hearing has been set for today. We will also reiterate our call on SAPS to act on known illegal scrap metal dealers in Kimberley.
Combating the scourge of metal theft in Kimberley requires a collective effort to ensure those who steal and vandalise infrastructure, and disrupt essential services, are caught and convicted, while rooting out the criminal networks operating within the municipality.