Editorial cartoon Peoples Post 3rd June 2008
Everything, especially the kitchen sink
Esther Lewis
AS if copper thieves have not caused enough headaches, the fiends have now acquired a feel for steel.
Due to scarcity, the price of steel went up in April to R2,50 per kilogram – not much compared to the price of copper, which fetches an average of R35 per kilogram (with some scrap traders willing to fork out up to R60).
Even so, there has been an increase in theft of privately-owned steel objects, says Pieter van Dalen, the chairperson of the Copper Theft Unit – also known as the Copperheads. “These people will steal anything, even if it’s not valuable” he says.
To attest to this, a Grassy Park resident spoke of how even pot plants left outside had disappeared from their property.
There have been reported cases of security gates, fences even street poles and light posts being whisked off. Poles, which are cemented into the ground, are sawed off at the base, then carried off.
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