TSUMEB - The Namibian Police in the Oshikoto region is calling on NGOs, companies and other stakeholders to come together to prevent crime in the region.

Regional commander, Commissioner Theopoline Kalompo-Nashikaku said during a crime prevention stakeholders meeting held in Tsumeb on Wednesday that the police cannot solve crime alone.

“We cannot solve crime alone; we need stakeholders to assist us in fighting crimes and safeguarding our society,” she said.

She observed thus after Dundee Precious Metals suffered from several copper wire theft incidents in the past 14 months. A total of seven cases were opened where suspects were arrested, while several incidents were reported internally where no suspects were arrested.

Kalompo-Nashikaku said copper wire theft is a serious problem in the town, as Cenored also regularly replaces copper wire.

She thus called on the public to not buy copper wire from any person.

“People should not buy any copper wire from unlicensed business owners because they might also become culprits,” she warned.

Dundee’s Protection Services and Emergency Response manager Jaco Haasbroek said the impact on the plant and community is that it caused an emergency shutdown due to water loss from the dam and power plant.

He added that they suffered an estimated loss of production revenue of N$ 22 million, electricity outages in town, and an impact on other business revenue.

“Our biggest challenge is the market owner of this copper wire theft, and we want to kill the market for this culprit,” said Haasbroek. -Nampa