Transnet, Telkom, Eskom, and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), along with the South African Police Service, have launched an integrated approach to combating the epidemic of cable theft, battery theft, and infrastructure damage.
The announcement was made during a SOC Industry Roundtable on economic sabotage against vital infrastructure.
The roundtable was led by the CEOs and acting CEOs of the four SOCs: Andre de Ruyter of Eskom, Portia Derby of Transnet, Serame Taukobong of Telkom, and Hishaam Emeran of Prasa.
The CEOs and entities agreed, among other things, to further integrate their security solutions, which amount to approximately R10 billion annually, to assist the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority with criminal cases involving incidents on their networks, and to work even more closely with communities to protect infrastructure.
A web application has also been developed to raise public awareness and provide stakeholders with real-time, granular information regarding occurrences in their networks.
Transnet Transnet CEO Portia Derby stated during a roundtable discussion that the firm experienced an increase in gasoline pipeline events that cost at least R400 million to clean up, in addition to issues on its freight train operations.
Both have a profound effect on the economy. Whenever we are attacked on the pipeline, there is a real potential that Gauteng, which is the economic engine of South Africa, could run dry. We’ve had 61 occurrences so far in 2022/23, and the increase corresponds to the fuel price hikes… It has an environmental impact of R1 billion,” she said.
Derby disclosed that cable theft has progressively risen, from 1,598 cases in 2017/18 to approximately 4,357 incidents in 2021/22.
During the same time period, 1,506 kilometers of cable had to be replaced, resulting in “roughly R30 billion in economic erosion” and R2.1 billion in revenue losses.
“When it comes to cable theft, the size of the cable is irrelevant. The theft of [the cable] prevents the train from moving, and when the train is unable to move, the entire value chain is affected. In the end, we were unable to meet a portion of the customers’ needs. It has a detrimental effect on the South African economy,” she stated.
More than 1,269 suspects have been apprehended in rail-related incidents, while 186 individuals have been arrested in pipeline-related incidents.
Officials from Transnet’s security department have been granted peace officer status, allowing them to make arrests, conduct searches of buildings, facilities, and individuals, and prepare dockets to ensure that offenders are correctly charged.
Andre de Ruyter, CEO of Eskom, stated that infrastructure is being “taken from beneath our feet” at an annual cost of approximately R4 billion for cables, overhead lines, transformers, and conductors.
“We must ensure this is not just another collection of good intentions. “We must ensure that we begin delivering and that, as State Owned Enterprises, we can defend ourselves from the plague of infrastructure theft, and, more significantly, that we can protect the residents of South Africa from the enormously bad effects of this,” he said.
He stated that an integrated strategy serves the best interests of society as a whole.
“The opportunity existed to further consolidate our security operations and find areas in which [the SOCs] share infrastructure. It is in our best interest to protect the railway line that transports coal to the Majuba power station, and if we can collaborate on this, there are cost savings and efficiencies we must pursue.
“We’ve received some very positive messages of support from chief executives of companies listed on the JSE who protect their assets and have offered to extend the scope of their security patrols to include some Eskom assets… because it is ultimately in their interest as well to ensure the security of [energy] supply,” he said.
Serame Taukobong, CEO of Telkom Telkom, stated that as long as cable and battery theft and infrastructure damage persist, networks will struggle to reduce the cost of data in the country.
“Important to us are the billions we spend annually to improve and maintain our infrastructure investment. All of these investments, from transportation to communication, benefit the South African populace’s standard of living.
Thefts of batteries and cables, as well as acts of vandalism against our vital infrastructure, have a negative effect on the economy. “The expense of maintaining our infrastructure makes it nearly difficult for [mobile networks] to cut the price of data in South Africa,” he explained.
Hishaam Emeran, acting CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), told the roundtable that the current growing trend in infrastructure theft and vandalism makes it “quite evident that we need to action quickly.”
Each year, the economic sabotage costs Prasa between R15 billion and R20 billion.
He painted a grim picture of the impact on Prasa, where hundreds of events have rendered the rail network “almost completely decimated,” with approximately 1,000 kilometers of electrical infrastructure and signaling cabling stolen from a 2,300-kilometer network.
“One hundred kilometers of rail have been stolen… dismantled and physically removed. Our stations have also been affected… Currently, only 129 of our 590 stations are operational, and we must restore those stations. In 2018-2019, we operated on forty corridors. Currently, we are running on 15… and we are bringing back a lot of those.
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Due to this economic sabotage, we have regretfully taken several steps backwards. Currently, passenger rail is not the backbone of the transportation system, which is problematic,” he remarked.
At its zenith, the passenger rail company transported almost 600 million commuters each year; it today transports only 17 million.
However, Emeran reported that it is making headway in regaining its services.
“Prasa is doing great effort to restore rail service. The majority of the ten priority corridors will be restored by the end of the year. Our accomplishments on the security front are likewise well known.” We have an authorized comprehensive security plan. In essence, we are examining the function of physical security staff deployment.
This has already been boosted by 3,100, and the expansion is ongoing. In addition, a variety of technology interventions will be implemented to complement this.” We must maintain pressure on the gas pedal and accelerate. We lack the luxuries of time. “Out there, commuters are hurting,” Emerson added. – SAnews.gov.za