Trending Video of Thieves Stealing Cables in Broad Daylight Angers People

• A video of four men stealing cables in broad daylight made rounds on social media on Thursday, 3 November, leaving people fuming
• Cable theft is one of the biggest economic sabotages the South African economy faces, which has been ongoing for years
• According to the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, cable theft costs the country's economy up to seven billion rand yearly

A video of thugs committing cable theft left people furious on social media.

In the video shared by @vehicletrackers on Twitter, four men are seen stealing cables on the side of the road and shoving them inside their truck.

People have since taken to the comment section to react to the video.

@SoufDee2 said:

Read also

Hawks apprehend two people for Transnet fuel theft after pressure drop indicated pipeline tampering

"They will get arrested, and they Wil be shocked to discover that it's the municipal contractors who get tenders there as the community knows these people as they probably come to repair, so they don't even suspect them when they see their car as they are think they are doing a job."

"Us we find loopholes in our people and sink them deep in poverty while we elevate each other through criminal actions," wrote @DarkTall_Mats

@MandlandunaD also responded:

"I wonder why damage to state infrastructure is not classified as a treason offence. This is economic sabotage."

According to the SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the SA economy loses billions of rands yearly due to cable theft. An article published by City Press highlighted that cable theft costs Eskom approximately R7 billion annually.

It added:

"Prasa lost about R364 million in Gauteng and the Western Cape in the year 2019, and Transnet lost about R3.9 billion from 2019 to 2022."

Read also

3 Saudi Arabian nationals found guilty of illegally harvesting flora & money laundering, fined R2 million

Briefly previously reported that:

Transnet Cable Theft Surged 22% During the Wage Protest Costing SEO at Least R24 Million

South Africa's rail, port and pipeline company is concerned and counting cable theft costs during the two-week wage strike.

Transnet Freight Rail suffered a 22% surge in cable theft after thieves vandalised key infrastructure during the Transnet employees' wage protest.

News24 reported that the rail company anticipated replacing the cables on one corridor would cost R24 million.

The State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) also reported a considerable loss in volume throughput and a significant increase in copper cable theft.

Source: Briefly News