"Cable theft should be rated attempted murder" Utatu

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

Rail union Utatu says it supports Metrorail’s call for cable theft to be rated attempted murder and for new signalling technology to replace copper wire.

The call was made in the wake of yesterday's collision between two trains in which more than a hundred people were injured.

Transport Minister, Ben Martins, says 25 metres of copper cable had been stolen on either side of the track where the trains collided at Kalafong station in Pretoria.

The trade union federation Fedusa has also added its voice to the call for harsher penalties for copper theft.

Meanwhile, the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry says its Copper Theft Barometer increased in December for the first time since July last year.

Sacci CEO, Neren Rau, says the barometer increased to a level of 12.4 million in December from 12.2 million in November.

He told Algoa FM News that Thursday's train crash was a reminder of the fact that the impact of copper theft extends beyond the country's economy.

"This is the message that the Chamber has been preaching since it's launched it's copper theft barometer, it's been trying to gather public support against copper theft on the understanding that copper theft has these broader economic impacts. It puts businesses and people's lives at risk and compromises electricity supply telecommunications and transport as we seen in Pretoria on Thursday" Rau said