JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The escalating crisis of cable theft and critical infrastructure vandalism in South Africa has prompted the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) to demand treason-level criminal sanctions for offenders. OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage argues that the widespread destruction of the electricity network constitutes severe economic sabotage, urging authorities to treat the crime with the utmost severity and target the syndicates profiting from the illicit trade.
While the immediate scrap value of stolen copper might be relatively low—such as R50,000 worth of cable—Duvenage emphasized that the broader economic damage runs into the millions. “When trains stop, factories lose production, businesses lose communications, and electricity doesn’t flow, it is serious,” he explained. The fallout extends to non-functioning traffic lights, halted economic activity, and in severe cases, the loss of human lives when critical infrastructure fails.
Addressing who ultimately bears the financial burden of these crimes, Duvenage made it clear that the cost is passed directly to the public. Even when a municipality is forced to replace stolen infrastructure, it is the citizens who pay through rates and taxes. “It is us who suffers the consequences,” Duvenage noted, adding that the country as a whole is funded by its citizens and therefore suffers when infrastructure is compromised.
The conversation highlighted ongoing issues at the Johannesburg Central Substation and underground cable tunnels, where City Power has cited theft and vandalism as primary concerns for recent fires and power disruptions. Duvenage was highly critical of the municipality’s approach, stating that City Power needs to “stop crying” about the crime and actively manage it.
He revealed that OUTA had previously proposed a collaborative security plan involving residential associations mounting cameras on their properties to monitor substations, backed by rapid armed response units. According to Duvenage, City Power ignored this offer of civil society assistance. “When civil society reaches out to local government and says we want to help… and they don’t take your hand, it’s very frustrating,” he said, urging the entity to adopt innovative security assets like sensors, drones, and better physical guarding.
To combat the issue effectively, OUTA is pushing for the strict enforcement of much tougher criminal sanctions. Duvenage referenced the criminal matters amendment act of 2015, which allows for jail sentences of up to 30 years and fines of up to R100 million for businesses and individuals trading in stolen cables and infrastructure. However, he stressed that law enforcement must utilize intelligence and AI to apprehend the buyers, transporters, and syndicate leaders, rather than just the individuals stealing small lengths of cable to survive. “If there’s no market to go to… then you start to win this war,” Duvenage asserted.
When pressed on his proposition that cable thieves should be charged with treason, Duvenage clarified the legal nuances. He acknowledged that “treason” is not technically the correct legal term under current South African law, as it specifically relates to attempting to overthrow the government. Instead, OUTA frames the destruction of the economy as “economic sabotage.” “You can imagine how serious we wanted to be treated when we talk about these types of conducts being almost treasonous,” Duvenage explained, reiterating the need to drastically escalate the fight against infrastructure crime.
Despite recent legal victories, such as a 20-year sentence handed down for cable theft in Bloemfontein (Mangaung), Duvenage maintains that such outcomes remain “too little and too few in between.” He called on business leaders and crime-fighting organizations to unite with civil society to protect the country’s electricity network, framing the crisis as both a severe law enforcement challenge and a direct attack on the functioning of the South African economy.
