NEVA MAKGETLA: Links in the cable theft value chain hard to find, let alone break
Concern for waste-pickers seems to prevent proper curbs on scrap merchants
11 April 2022 - 13:45
It is often hard to pin down an industry based in criminality, such as the cable theft value chain. Stats SA does not collect the standard economic data on its turnover, employment or exports. Instead, we have to piece together anecdotes and sketchy security and media reports.
Nonetheless, coming up with effective measures to combat cable theft requires a critical review of the available evidence on the extent of the problem and the systemic causal mechanisms behind it. The alternative is to fall back on draconian punishments, which almost never work for high-return activities...
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