Ripe for the picking while MLM cries foul

As you’re busy bathing your children and cooking dinner in the rush of peak evening time at home, the power suddenly goes out. The entire household curses in extremely colorful language, and you grab your phone to dial the call centre’s number. You’re informed that the outage is caused by cable theft, and that you’re going to have to make do without electricity for the next several hours. You sit and wonder how you’re going to finish the laundry, while your children stumbles in the dark, and your partner struggles to find the ever-elusive flashlight. According to Msukaligwa Local Municipality, thousands of Rands are spent every week to repair and tie in cables that have been stolen. Cables are being stolen in broad daylight, and entire wards are left without electricity.

Opportunistic criminals sit and wait for the infamous load reduction to be implemented, and have themselves a jolly good time chopping off one cable after another. One cannot help and wonder as to how these criminals are so wily, and make a daring escape before anyone notices their wrongdoing and alerts ACSU or the neighborhood watch. Unfortunately, it is much easier than you might think, as various jerry-rigged electrical cables, ranging from low- to high voltage, are ripe for the picking. With shockingly low-quality workmanship, electrical cables are tied into substations and junction boxes, and draped over trees, fences and lamp posts, loosely tied down with flimsy wire. A shining beacon that screams “steal me” at the top of its voice. While MLM cries foul and laments the funds squandered on stolen cables, the old saying, idle hands are the devil's workshop, rings true. Ultimately, better craftsmanship, and correct procedures being followed, will both contribute to mitigating losses suffered by the hands of cable thieves.