Cable theft is a serious issue in South Africa, costing billions of rands and disrupting communities. The Overstrand is no exception.

The newest trend in cable theft was recently observed in Meerenbosch, just next to Hawston, where culprits dug several metres of trench in knee-deep sand to strip out electrical cables. They then covered the holes with broken roof sheets and small branches to hide their work and make it harder to detect. In Blompark and Masakhane theft of streetlight cables and consumer connection cables have escalated with culprits also covering up all trenching after removing the cables.

The deliberate vandalism of municipal infrastructure is both dangerous and costly. It not only disrupts essential services and places a heavy burden on municipal staff, who must spend long hours repairing the damage, but also threatens the safety of the community.

Overstrand Safety and Security officers regularly patrol the area, but the perpetrators are staying one step ahead, taking advantage of the large distances that need to be covered, which makes patrolling challenging.

The Municipality cannot tackle this alone and relies on the community to help protect municipal infrastructure in their own neighbourhoods, as they are the ones most affected by the damage. In most cases, the community are aware of who the culprits are.

Please report any suspicious digging or activity immediately – don’t assume someone else will report it. If residents are concerned about their safety, they can report anonymously to the Ward Councillor, or Law Enforcement at 028 313 8996 (24/7), or directly to the Electrical Services departments in their area (Gansbaai and Stanford – 028 384 8376,  Hermanus and Kleinmond – 028 316 5600).

If you have any information about the culprits, you can also submit it via the Collab Citizen App using the dedicated Theft/Vandalism icon. If you would like your information to be treated as confidential, please mention this in the Requirements section, where we will handle it accordingly.