Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
THIEVES struck on Wednesday and stole copper fittings and transformer oil in the Upper Rangemore area in Bulawayo plunging the neighbourhood into darkness.
This is one of the many acts of theft by criminals at various places in and around Bulawayo, leaving communities without electricity.
A resident of Upper Rangemore, Mr Barnabas Masimba, said they lost power on Wednesday morning.
“On Wednesday morning at around 3AM, power was cut in our area. When we woke up, we thought it was the normal load shedding programme that we are used to. I went to leave my child at school, and the school also had no electricity. When I returned home, one of my neighbours said the transformer was vandalised,” said Mr Masimba.
He said they reported the issue to the Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution Company (ZETDC) western region and are waiting for them to come and fix the problem.
In Bellevue suburb, residents along Churchill Avenue have gone for five months without electricity after criminals stole copper cables. ZETDC western region acting general manager, Engineer Lloyd Jaji said they received a report on the matter.
“They scavenged all the copper and repairing that isn’t possible. The price for one transformer is US$7 000 but it’s misleading. This is because they are stealing copper conductors on the line and the target is the copper. In that transformer they were mainly looking for the copper, although they got the oil, but the main thing was copper. So, if we were to talk about the price of one transformer unit, people might underestimate the extent of the problem,” said Eng Jaji.
He said theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure is rampant in the western region which covers Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South.
Eng Jaji said the frequency of the cases nationwide is a challenge for the company.
He said in some areas they have tried to put transformers in cages but that has not stopped criminals.
“If we go outside the western region, they steal every day. In our case they steal copper from lines every night. To the extent that when you see portions of suburbs that are complaining that they are off for two to three weeks, it’s because we are waiting for aluminium conductors to replace those copper ones that have been stolen. But these criminals find a way to break into the cage. We shall make it difficult for them to undo the bolts,” said Eng Jaji.
He said members of the public can report acts of theft and vandalism on the following cellphone numbers, senior loss officer Dhemba 0772 261 845 and chief risk officer Rugwaro 0718940346. In June, Government gazetted the Copper Control Amendment Bill to fight the criminal acts.
In Parliament recently, the Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services and the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security tabled a report on the Bill which seeks to fortify current legislation on copper control.
Part of the recommendations of the committee include the minimum mandatory sentence for all illegal activities involving copper and copper materials must be increased from the proposed 10-year jail sentence to twenty years without the option of a fine or parole.
Vehicles, equipment or immovable property such as buildings (including houses) that are used for illegal transportation, processing or storage of copper materials must be forfeited to the State.
The committee also recommended that in the case of places of residence, forfeiture of such property must be effected when it is proven beyond any reasonable doubt that the legal occupants were aware of any such illegal dealing in copper material within those premises and were wilfully concealing the criminal activities. — Follow on twitter @bonganinkunzi
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