With copper prices on the rise, theft of the metal is disrupting business in the communications sector as the police look to crack down on the culprits. 

The Windhoek City Police have noticed a dramatic increase in the theft of copper wire, especially in the areas of Wanaheda and Otjomuise. A demand for the metal, also known as ‘poor man’s gold’, from nations such as China, South Korea and Malaysia has created a robust international trade, which has spawned a growing local black market for the metal. Copper theft has long been a major source of anxiety, particularly for the communications, construction, utilities and transportation industries. Earlier this year, Telecom Namibia CEO Stanley Shanapinda was worried. 

“Telecom has reported a high number of incidents of criminals targeting the company’s infrastructure. This clearly shows that criminals are causing serious damage to the Telecom Namibia networks through copper theft and sheer vandalism, resulting in downtime for customers and costing the company millions. 

This directly affects our quality of service and customer experience in the affected areas”, he stated. Copper wire theft poses a serious threat to service experiences and related economic activities, resulting in the disruption of network availability, loss in revenue, customer frustration and increased costs of replacing the lost equipment. 

According to the Investing News Network (INN), copper reached an all-time high of US$10 700 per ton during the second quarter of last year. 

Speaking to New Era, City Police superintendent Johannes Emvula said thieves dig out the metals, burn them and sell them to scrap metal companies. He believes people with knowledge of how to safely steal live copper wire without getting electrocuted are behind the theft. 

Illegitimate scrap metal companies, which bought copper and other scrap metals for cash, are also part of the problem. “The increase is quite alarming, and we want to warn scrapyard owners to refrain from buying these wires from the street as it is affecting the communities, telecommunications companies, and our economy,” Emvula said, further warning the public to also stop buying items on the black market as it increases theft.

Recently, he noted that they were investigating the alleged theft of reels of
copper cables and other electrical appliances from the United Property Management site, a company that provides property management, real estate development and facilities management services. According to Emvula, they have arrested a man who was found in possession of stolen Insulated PVC wires, and three others linked to such crimes. The stolen items are estimated to be worth N$160 000.

- ashikololo@nepc.com.na