Warwick Bruce Chapman

Below, please find an extract of the minutes of the eThekwini Council meeting held on 5 September, 2011.

3. Question submitted by Councillor WB Chapman: Cable Theft (27/1/1/5/R):

3.1 What were the cable theft losses in eThekwini for the financial years 2007/2008, 2008/2009, 2009/2010, 2010/2011, 2011/2012 to date?

3.2 Has eThekwini established a specialised unit to combat cable theft?

3.2.1 If yes:-

3.2.1.1 How many permanent members are assigned to the unit; and

3.2.1.2 What budget has been assigned to the unit including the costs of posts permanently assigned t the unit; and

3.2.1.3 Who heads the unit; and

3.2.1.4 When was the unit established?

3.2.1.5 Is the unit focusing on scrap metal dealers across eThekwini?

3.2.1.5.1 If yes:-

3.2.1.5.1.1 How many scrap metal dealers in eThekwini were charged for buying stolen cables during 2010/2011?

3.2.1.5.2 If not, why not?

3.2.2 If not, why not?

3.3 Given that cable theft constitutes damage to public infrastructure necessary for the priority of service delivery in local governments, has eThekwini interacted with National Government with a view to reclassifying cable theft in a more serious crime category?

3.3.1 If yes, please provide a summary of our representation and the response from National Government.

3.3.2 If not, why not?

As Councillor DG Hoorzuk was providing responses, clarity was sought in terms of the relevant Chairperson not providing answers to questions. The Head: Legal Services advised that the Rules of Order stated that the Chairperson must ensure that responses were provided appropriately and that the Chairperson could request any Councillor to provide same. Thereafter, Councillor DG Hoorzuk provided the following respective responses:-

3.1 This is only direct cost, year 2007/2008 R15 608 850, Year 2008/2009 R16 675 844, year 2009/2010 R22 683 307, year 2010/2011 22 206 718, year 2011‑2012 only two months of data would not be measured against annually figures, there had been drastic increase of copper cables theft and electrical Infrastructure since 2007 to date. This was due to the fact that copper was valued at approximately R65. 00 per kg and the demand for exports to India and China were high.

3.2 Yes, a Business Risk Control Branch was started in 2009.

3.2.1.1 There were currently, six members of staff in the division made up as follows:-Three belong to the Risk Section and two investigators and a Senior Manager.

3.2.1.2 The Branch had been assigned a budget of R29 million.

3.2.1.3 The Senior Manager of the branch was Manju Naidoo. The Unions objected both at Local and Cluster Local Labour Forums to the Business Risk organogram being amended to include network theft and investigations section. It took a year and was only finalized in November 2010. The Senior Investigator post for the Network Section had been advertised four times to date and no suitable candidates had been recruited. At present, six Task Teams from the external security providers had been appointed, to patrol, monitor and react to reported incidents of cable theft until the Branch was adequately staffed.

3.2.1.4 2009

3.2.1.5 Scrap dealers

The Unit was focusing on scrap dealers together with Provincial South African Police Services, Non Ferrous Crime Combating Committee – Brigadier Harry and Business against Crime. This Committee under Brigadier Harry is committed to more raids on scrap dealers.

Raids were conducted on suspected dealer premises at least every 3 months with SAPS. The onus ultimately lies with SAPS and NPA in charging and prosecuting these dealers. The Municipality had no direct jurisdiction over these dealers. Council could only advise SAPS the suspected dealers in the industry, surveillance and raids are then conducted by SAPS – Organised Crime Unit.

It must also be noted that illegal “Bucket Shops” represent a major problem as they were unregulated, difficult to locate and contribute to significant quantities of copper and other metals leaving our shores.

Thus far, only a few scrap dealers have received fines from SAPS. There have been no convictions against them to date regarding eThekwini Electricity property.

The Municipality had been awaiting amendments and promulgation of the Second Hand Goods Act for the past two years. This new Act will give law enforcement “more teeth to prosecute dealers who were in possession of metals in their possession where they cannot identify the legitimate source of ownership. There would be stricter fines and sentences to be imposed on these scrap dealers.

Amendments to the legislation have been formulated collectively with Eskom, Telkom, Metrorail and Transnet via the National & Provincial Saps Non Ferrous Crime Combating Committee and Business Against Crime. The Minister of Energy has also recently publicised her support for these amendments. Research has shown that countries like Brazil have banned copper exports which have dramatically reduced copper theft. To get our country to adopt such a decision will require massive support from businesses as well as stakeholders in government.

Dear Editor

Asset losses as a result of cable theft in eThekwini over the past five years amount to nearly R100m. This figure does not take into account losses to consumers caused by the resulting outage or power surge.

In the 2006/7 financial year, cable theft losses in Cape Town were recorded at R22-million. Just a year later losses had been reduced to R496 800, representing a 44-fold decrease from one financial year to the next.

What could possibly explain such a dramatic decline in just one year? The answer is simply that the Cape Town council took a policy decision not to tolerate cable theft any longer and to invest in combating the crime. The council established the Metals Theft Unit or “Copperheads” as a specialised unit of the Cape Town Metro Police to combat the theft of copper and other metals.

The 12-person unit, through tip-offs from the public, as well as proactive intelligence-gathering, was mandated to find, catch and arrest copper thieves. The unit arrests between 200 and 300 per year of which about 50 are council workers. Theft of brass water meters was reduced from 1700 per month in 2007, to 10 per month in 2009.

There is no reason why this success cannot be replicated in eThekwini and other metros. eThekwini’s own attempt to combat cable theft is a unit established in 2009 with a R29m budget and six posts. It has been unable to attract the investigators required to fill the vacant posts in the unit. There have been no convictions of scrap metal dealers in eThekwini since the unit was established.

At a National level, the Second Hand Goods Law which was passed in 2009 has not yet been implemented by SAPS. It creates a solid framework for law enforcement to pursue and prosecute copper thieves and must urgently be implemented.

Copper theft has a direct impact on the lives of our people, and always hits poorer communities hardest. eThekwini then has to spend additional resources replacing infrastructure instead of rolling out more services to the poor.

In my opinion, even if it costs us R30m per year to prevent R30m of cable theft, the measures are worthwhile as they reduce loss of productivity and costly damage to consumer equipment.

Cllr WB Chapman

5 September, 2011
Statement issued by Warwick Chapman, DA Spokesperson Housing and Infrastructure

Answers provided at today’s full council meeting reveal that asset losses as a result of cable theft in eThekwini over the past five years amount to nearly R100m. This figure does not take into account the losses to consumers caused by the resulting outage or power surge.

It is estimated that copper theft costs our economy R10 billion per year, hampering economic growth, productivity and job creation.

In a press statement released by the municipality in May this year, spokesperson Thabo Mofokeng said, “…the theft of cables, electrical conductors and transformers from the eThekwini Electricity network has resulted in significant losses to the Municipality. This not only places a burden on the City’s financial resources but also on its valuable customers that are severely inconvenienced by the supply interruptions arising out of the theft.”

Mr Mofokeng goes on to state that, “there are approximately 130 registered scrap metal dealers and 300 “bucket shop” type dealers in the eThekwini region. This poses enormous pressure on authorities in terms of regular compliance monitoring.”

This growing cable-theft trend threatens the very infrastructure of the City, causing serious damage to electrical substations and necessitating repairs running into millions of rand.

In the 2007/8 financial year cable theft losses for eThekwini were reported by the then Minister for Local Government to be R36-million. In the City of Cape Town over the same period, cable theft losses were recoprted at R496 800. Just a year earlier, in the 2006/7 financial year, cable theft losses in the City of Cape Town were recorded at R22-million.

This represents a 44-fold decrease in losses for the City of Cape Town from one financial year to the next.

What could possible explain such a dramatic decline in just one year? The answer is simply that the Cape Town council took a policy decision not to tolerate cable theft any longer and to invest in combating the crime. During that financial year, Cape Town established the Metals Theft Unit or “Copperheads” as a specialised unit of the Cape Town Metro Police to combat the theft of copper and other metals in the City

The 12-person unit, through tip-offs from the public, as well as proactive intelligence-gathering, was mandated to find, catch and arrest copper thieves. The unit’s success rate speaks for itself:

• Between 200 and 300 people were arrested per year since the Copperheads’ inception.
• On average, about 50 council workers were arrested a year, indicating that in some instances, copper theft from municipal property is an inside job.
• In 2007, when the Copperheads were established, R22 million worth of copper and other metals were stolen. In 2009, that number had fallen to only R500 000.
• Theft of brass water meters was reduced from 1700 per month in 2007, to 10 per month in 2009.

There is no reason why this success cannot be replicated in eThekwini and other metros.

Answers provided today about eThekwini’s own attempt to combat cable theft indicate that the unit established in 2009 has a R29m budget, six staff and has been unable to attract the investigators required to fill the vacant posts in the unit.

Further answers confirmed that there have been no convictions of scrap metal dealers in eThekwini since the unit was established.

National government also has a crucial role to play in combating copper theft. At national level, the DA is putting forward five key proposals to stop copper theft:

• Implement the Second Hand Goods Law of 2009: This law was passed in 2009 and creates a solid framework for law enforcement to pursue and persecute copper thieves. The law has still not been implemented. Once implemented, it will make it much easier to police copper theft.

• Making copper theft a priority crime at the SAPS: This will secure more resources and more experienced personnel for the fight against copper theft, as well as placing more responsibility on SAPS to investigate and resolve copper theft cases.

• Giving copper theft its own crime code at the SAPS: Presently, the SAPS crime database records copper theft in the category “other crimes”. This means that there are no reliable statistics of the incidence of copper theft, hampering the development of a sophisticated strategy to combat copper theft. We therefore propose that copper theft be given its own crime code so that it can be recorded separately.

• Setting copper theft reduction targets at parastatals: The Public Enterprises Minister should set targets to reduce copper theft at each major parastatal, accompanied by a comprehensive strategic plan to meet these targets.

• Close cooperation with industry experts: There exists a reservoir of goodwill from security and copper theft experts to help municipalities and parastatals to improve their security operations. This knowledge should be used more effectively and that starts by taking the problem more seriously and being open to input from outside experts.

We should not forget that copper theft has a direct effect on the lives of our people. Copper stolen from electricity cables disconnects our communities, especially poorer communities. The City then has to spend additional resources replacing infrastructure, money which could be spent rolling out even more services to the poor.

Our experience in Cape Town shows us that a metro police service, when properly trained and led by the right people and given the tools to do its job, can act as a powerful tool in the fight against crime.

In my opinion, even if it costs us R30million per year to prevent R30million of cable theft, the measures are still worthwhile as they reduce loss of productivity and costly damage to equipment caused by the outages and surges which result from cable theft. Cable theft can be combated by this municipality, all we need is the political will to do it properly.

Please report suspicious activities relating to cable theft to 031 311 9611.

Media Queries
Warwick Chapman
083 7797 094
warwickc@da.org.za

Statement by
Ronnie Veeran
DA eThekwini Mayoral Candidate

24 April 2011
Release: immediate

Note to editors: This is a plan to resurrect the eThekwini Metro Police jointly presented by DA Mayoral Candidates for eThekwini and Cape Town, Ronnie Veeran and Patricia de Lille, drawing on the successes of the DA government in Cape Town.

The Durban Metro Police are tasked with enforcing our municipal bylaws supporting the SAPS with crime prevention. A good Metro Police force will supplement the work of the SAPS.

Durban Metro Police have currently 1056 vacant posts out of about 2200. Cape Town had a 25% vacancy rate when the DA took over, which they regarded as a crisis, yet with a 48% vacancy rate the Dubran Metro Police spokesperson says there are “more than enough” staff (Independent on Saturday, 23 April).

As a result of the shortage of staff in the Metro Police, communities are being affected:
· When the Umlazi Metro Police branch was recently established, the core members of the Chatsworth Anti-Drug Team were moved to Umlazi as a result of a shortage of officers, effectively disbanding the team.

· The community of K-section KwaMashu had to stage protests before council would take measures on the notorious Nkonjane Rd which has claimed the lives of schoolchildren as a result of speeding. Speeding must be controlled through effective enforcement by speed timing.

· On an evening in April only 1 Metro Police officer instead of 14 were on duty for the entire Pinetown and Queensburgh areas.

As a result of a properly implemented urban management strategy and a revitalised Cape Town Metro Police, crime in the Cape Town CBD was reduced by 90% within 2 years of the DA taking government. The same strategy is being rolled out across the Cape Town Metro with a view to reducing crime in the rest of the Metro.

When the DA took the City of Cape Town over from the ANC in 2006, the Metro Police was dysfunctional and had been crippled by cadre deployment. The number of officers had been reduced by 800 members. One out of every four posts in the metro police service in Cape Town was vacant and there were severe shortages of equipment and specialised skills. The Metro Police had a reputation for corruption, inefficiency and ill-discipline.

A DA government in eThekwini will immediately invest funds to attracting experienced officers to the Metro Police. We will ensure they are properly equipped and trained. We will establishe specialised units to combat crime, copper theft, drinking and driving and speeding.

In the DA’s first 100 days in office, emergency funds were utilised to fill critical posts in the metro police. Extra money was allocated for police equipment. In the DA’s first financial year, the Metro Police received a bigger capital budget than it had had for the entire five years before that.

Cape Town now has a Metro Police engaged in more real police work than any other Metro Police in the country. They don’t just enforce by-laws. They go after the criminals who terrorise our communities. And they catch them.

Breaking the Chain: The DA’s Plan to Fight Drugs in eThekwini

Drugs and drug addiction are having a devastating effect on the eThekwini community. Residents of Chatsworth, Phoenix and other suburbs such as Claremont, Umlazi and KwaMashu have been caught in the stranglehold of notorious drugs such as sugars and whoonga.

Widespread addiction to these drugs has contributed to the tearing of our social fabric, broken families and a high incidence of crime and criminality. The local community bears the burden as dealers battle for turf and addicts look for every opportunity to fund their habits. In some suburbs of the city addicts have even resorted to preying on HIV patients to steal their ARV’s for the production of whoonga.

In Chatsworth the Metro Police were making exceptional breakthroughs in the fight against drugs and drug dealers and yet the unit’s special drug team was effectively disbanded when its 5 members were moved to the new Umlazi station, leaving the drug lords to operate with impunity. This is yet another indictment of how the effectiveness of our Metro Police is compromised by the poor management which has left the force with a 48% vacancy rate and thus only half the personnel it needs.

The DA-led city of Cape Town has demonstrated that the Metro Police, which are funded by the ratepayers of the metro, can be an enormously effective force in combating the sale and distribution of drugs. Since taking power in the city the DA created a specialized Metro Police unit to tackle the drugs scourge.

As a result, arrests for drug-related crimes soared from 180 in the 2005/6 financial year to a massive 955 in 2009/10 financial year. This has also contributed to the reduction of the overall crime statistics as drug-related offences are often linked to more serious offences such as murder, assault, theft and armed robbery.

A DA government in eThekwini would immediately set about creating a specialized Metro Police unit to tackle this problem head-on. This unit will consist of highly trained and equipped officers and an efficient intelligence gathering arm.

This unit would partner with the SAPS, private security companies and community policing fora to identify where drugs are being sold, how they are entering the city and the drug lords responsible for selling them. Partnerships will also be sought with the prosecuting authority to ensure that arrests, evidence gathering and subsequent prosecutions result in watertight convictions.

Keeping the lights on: the DA’s plan to stem cable theft

The theft of electricity cables within the eThekwini municipal area has reached dramatic proportions, severely hampering the operation of electricity infrastructure in the city. Officials in the eThekwini Electricity Department have revealed to the DA that there are an average of 15 incidents of cable theft per day, resulting in 300 – 400 light poles being blacked out and plunging key areas into darkness.

The theft of copper cables in Cape Town was a major problem. The Democratic Alliance city administration took decisive action and established the “Copperheads” unit within the Metro Police. This specialised unit was tasked with combating cable theft as well as seeking out scrap dealers and individuals who were buying stolen cables. The unit has been extremely successful in prosecuting those who commit crimes of sabotage against the City of Cape Town. Such is the success of the unit, that the cost to the city to replace copper cabling has dropped from R20-million pa to just R500 000 pa.

We would take the following action steps within three months of taking office:

· establish a “Copperheads” unit within the Metro Police. This unit will be staffed and equipped to fight those criminals who target municipal infrastructure and bring them to justice.

· motivate for the re-classification of the theft of electricity cables as sabotage to municipal infrastructure. This classification of sabotage carries a far heavier sentence in the courts.

· table a bylaw amendment to regulate and scrutinise scrap dealers who are buying stolen municipal infrastructure. Should scrap dealers be found to be in possession of stolen municipal infrastructure their business licence will be revoked.

Clamping Down: road safety begins and ends with enforcement

One of the Metro Police’s core responsibilities is to enforce the laws on our roads and keep a lid on drinking and driving. Speeding and drunk driving account for the majority of road fatalities in South Africa. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation 45% of weekend fatalities are directly a result of drunk driving.

The key to changing driver behaviour is ensuring regular and strict enforcement of the law. Drivers must always be wary that they could get caught if they speed, drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs or break traffic laws.

We will ensure that:

· the culture of minor traffic offences and reckless driving is eradicated through strict enforcement of traffic laws and by-laws;

· an annual community survey is conducted to find the roads must in need of speed enforcement and the necessary applications are made to the Director of Public Prosecutions to enforce the speed limit on these roads;

· an annual community survey is conducted to establish major sources of drunk driving such as taverns, night clubs, sporting events and beach front venues and regular road blocks are set up as a deterrent.

Community Participation: collaborating with SAPS and the community

The primary role of crime prevention and investigating crimes falls with the SAPS who are a Provincial and National run competency. Our Metro Police service do play a role in crime fighting, and must play a greater role going forward. Some communities run neighbourhood watches and vibrant Community Policing forums but many others do not.

In order to enhance collaboration:
- in partnership with SAPS, functioning Community Policing Fora will be established in every policing area in the Metro and will engage in real crime prevention activities;
- Metro Police specialised units will be re-established and revitalised to combat specific crime types and Metro Police will be required to participate in all CPF activities in their area;
- we will increase communication and collaboration between CPF leadership, SAPS station commanders and Metro Police commanders;

Any criminal who enters a neighbourhood with an intention to commit a crime is unable to do so without being seen by a member of the community. Improved communication between community members, the SAPS, private security and Metro Police can be the difference between a crime being committed or prevented.

Summary

Durban Metro Police are grossly understaffed and lacking specialised units. We would urgently address the staffing, equipment and training shortages and establish specialised units to tackle specific crimes. We will emphasise the enforcement of bylaws by the Metro Police in order to combat the present culture of petty criminality.

We want the Durban Metro Police to be regarded as the Guardians of our Metro. Only through effective law enforcement can we build an efficient municipality which delivers for all.

Because the DA delivers for all!

Sithuthukisa wonke umuntu!

Ons lewer dienste aan almal!

Media Enquiries:

Cllr Ronnie Veeran
DA eThekwini Mayoral Candidate
082 371 7698

Mbali Ntuli
Mayoral Spokesperson
072 118 8556

NOTE: This statement is here because I played a role in creating it while eThekwini Campaign Manager in the 2011 Local Government Elections.

Statement by
Cllr Ronnie Veeran
DA eThekwini Mayoral Candidate

21 April 2011

Release: immediate

The Democratic Alliance recognises the need for safe and clean communities where people can live and work free from fear and danger. We recognise that the community itself has a central role to play in the fight against crime and that a partnership between South African Police Service, private security and the community and the municipality is required to reduce crime in eThekwini.

The Democratic Alliance has a plan to reduce the space in our communities which allows criminals to operate.

A DA government in eThekwini would ensure that:

- in partnership with SAPS, functioning Community Policing Fora will be established in every policing area in the Metro and will engage in real crime prevention activities;
- we will establish a small, effective Community Safety unit to initiate and support the establishment of street and neighbourhood watches to work with CPFs based on best practices learned from around the Metro;
- we will support and encourage reasonable partnerships between communities and private security to secure neighbourhoods and streets;
- Metro Police specialised units will be re-established and revitalised to combat specific crime types and Metro Police will be required to participate in all CPF activities in their area;
- we will increase communication and collaboration between CPF leadership, SAPS station commanders and Metro Police commanders;
- all councillors will be required to involve themselves in CPF and neighbourhood watch activities.

The primary role of crime prevention and investigating crimes falls with the SAPS who are a Provincial and National run competency. Our Metro Police service do play a role in crime fighting, and must play a greater role going forward. Some communities run neighbourhood watches and vibrant Community Policing forums but many others do not.

Any criminal who enters a neighbourhood with an intention to commit a crime is unable to do so without being seen by a member of the community. Improved communication between community members, the SAPS, private security and Metro Police can be the difference between a crime being committed or prevented.

Crime is a complex problem, deeply integrated into our social fabric. We recognise that all three spheres of government need to play a role in combating and preventing crime in our communities. A DA government in eThekwini will ensure that the fight against crime is a top priority.