The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (NMBBC) has called on the government to declare a State of Disaster with respect to the vandalism of infrastructure.
CEO, Denise van Huyssteen, said this should lead the government's response to cable and infrastructure theft that is occurring at an industrial scale and crippling the South African economy.
She said the Chamber has sent a formal request to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to take this drastic step in order to protect public assets that are essential to service delivery that also support investment and job creation.
Van Huyssteen said copper cable theft from rail and electricity networks alone is estimated to cost the economy R45 billion annually, while the wider knock-on impact of cable theft countrywide is estimated at R187 billion.
She says the scale of the problem is likely the involvement of cross-border organised crime syndicates.
"We don't advocate for such a step lightly, especially given that the country has only recently emerged from two years of successive states of disaster imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a State of Disaster of this nature should not affect the daily lives and movement of the general public, as it would be specifically targeted at protecting infrastructure and monitoring, tracking down and prosecuting the perpetrators of these crimes," Van Huyssteen said.
She said the mechanisms of a State of Disaster could be brought to bear the scourge of cable theft and vandalism including the release of national government resources.
Additionally, it would also enable checks on the movement of goods and facilitate cross-border assistance to tackle organised crime.
"A state of disaster would enable the assignment of short-term extraordinary powers to security services, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The timeframe of a national disaster is relatively short, at an initial three months, which would ensure focused planning prior to a declaration and focused efforts during the declared period," she said.
The Chamber said that a State of Disaster is a drastic step but it is imperative if Government wants to restore an environment conducive to community life, business, employment and socio-economic development.
