Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Afrikaans by Cllr Gert Du Plessis.
The DA calls on the Municipal Manager of the Rustenburg Local Municipality, Victor Makona, to urgently approach the SAPS and open criminal cases for the theft of municipal water meters.
Over the last couple of months, thousands of municipal water meters have been stolen. See photos here, here, here and here.
One water meter costs at least R550 or more, depending on the service provider, this means the municipality can pay up to R550 000 to replace the thousand meters stolen, excluding other installation costs.
Over three days, between 8 to 10 October, at least a 100 water meters have been stolen, 19 water meters were reported stolen within a small radius of about 2 kilometres within the Safarie Gardens area.
The Rustenburg Municipality has ignored this targeted theft and has failed to open criminal charges with the SAPS to investigate.
We are of the view that this criminal activity is coordinated by a syndicate who sell these water meters to scrap metal dealers. Section 36 of the General Law Amendment Act (No. 62 of 1955) clearly states that any person found in the possession of any goods that may have been stolen and cannot give a satisfactory account of such possession can be charged and be liable on conviction of theft. Section 37 states that any person who acquires or receives stolen goods shall be guilty of an offence.
Scrap metal dealers who support this illegal activity are themselves guilty of a criminal offence and should be investigated and prosecuted.
The SAPS in Rustenburg is unable to take action to prevent this crime proactively, despite security camera footage made available to identify criminals. Criminals apprehended by residents and handed over to police, with evidence, were apparently released because the police cannot charge the criminals without cases being registered by Rustenburg Local Municipality.
The DA in Rustenburg, as well as some residents tried to open criminal cases but were advised by the police that since these water meters belong to the municipality, the cases should be opened by the municipality itself.
The water meters have unique serial numbers, so it is also easy to link a water meter to a specific address and municipal account for reporting purposes.
As the accounting officer, the Municipal Manager’s failure to open cases is a neglection of his duties.
In addition to the millions it will cost to replace the meters, the municipality incurs additional water losses, which has a negative impact on the municipality’s finances, as well as the additional overtime payments to technicians who have to respond to callouts to repair leaks as a result of the theft of water meters.
The fact that criminal cases are not being registered by the Rustenburg Local Municipality also prevents insurance claims, as insurance companies require case numbers to process claims.
It is unacceptable that the municipality and the SAPS refuse to take this matter seriously, and it is an indication of the total collapse in governance in Rustenburg.