The latest South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) copper theft barometer deteriorated to a level of 15.84 in July 2011, from 14.37 in June, but remained below the average of 16, or R18-million rand a month.

Sacci said the figure was suggestive of a “more contained” level of theft, notwithstanding an increase in public attention to the matter, owing primarily to recent disruptions of Gautrain services as a direct result of cable theft.

Sacci noted that various business and law enforcement bodies were calling for a reclassification of the theft of copper cable and electricity as a serious offence, which was recently dubbed “economic sabotage” by Energy Minister Dipuo Peters.

The infrastructure development cluster, of which Peters is part, noted earlier in the month that it was working with the departments of Police and Justice to intensify the fight against cable theft.

But the Recycling Association of South Africa (Rasa) also warned recently that escalating the crime to economic sabotage, without having identifiable cables, would be futile.

“Cables need to be marked in a unique and identifiable manner so that they cannot be confused with those products legally available for resale,” Rasa CEO Nancy Strachan cautioned, while highlighting the fact that the technology was available to ensure such identification.

She also called for a collective effort to improve the statistics collection process, as well as to equip the police and scrap dealers with the wherewithal to identify and clamp down on stolen goods.

However, Sacci felt that economic conditions were also likely to play a role, noting that the copper price had softened from around $10 000/t in July to below $9 000 in August on economic concerns in the eurozone and the US.

“Based on predictions of a slower demand for copper and a falling price, the figures for June and July are likely to level out," the body said in a statement.

The export from South Africa of copper waste and scrap for January 2009 to May 2011 showed a steady increase, with exports reaching R370 000 in May 2011, the highest level since the spike of November 2009, when exports breached R900 000.

“In addition to the enactment of the Second-Hand Goods Act in January 2011, various business and law enforcement bodies have cast a strong eye to the reclassification of the theft of copper cable and electricity as very serious offences which impacts national security,” Sacci noted.