BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– A standing ovation for the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade!
This is how locals reacted to the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo’s statement, banning the exporting of copper in the country.
Worth noting is that the theft of copper wire in the country is on the rise- and this has affected the daily operations of businesses, government, and ICT infrastructure in the country.
Taking to their social media platforms, emaSwati said Khumalo’s instruction to ban the export of copper, came at the right time as copper wire theft was now rife in the country.
“Eswatini is literally held ransom by these copper thieves. We cannot do anything- and even organise our businesses because of the theft,” said Mandla Dlamini, a local businessman who said his business operations were affected by copper theft.
Sifiso Nxumalo, a business man in electrics, said they fell behind on work because of copper wire theft.
“We can barely complete our work because the moment we install wires, thieves steal them at night. Completing any projects is becoming impossible,” said Nxumalo.
Worth noting is the Government departments has had multiple network outages because of copper wire theft.
In a statement yesterday, it was revealed the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade was working with the various ministries to address the challenges faced by the country following an increase in the number of theft cases of copper cables and copper-based infrastructure, vandalism and malicious damage of millions of Emalangeni worth of public utility infrastructure.
The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade said this damage had resulted in disruption in service provision of some utilities and the citizens they served, which had become costly especially for those businesses and inconveniences the citizens.
“Companies like Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation estimate copper theft to amount to over E100 Million per year. The company has since been unable to provide internet services in many parts of the country. At Eswatini Electricity Company, sections of communities have now started experiencing cable theft, leading to blackouts in those communities and businesses.
“Eswatini Water Services Corporation has also reported theft of copper based infrastructure. The Roads Department has long reported cable theft that has led to street lighting being affected. Other private entities and properties continue reporting similar incidents at an increasing rate,” said Khumalo.
The minister, who doubles as a Senator, further said in trying to curb the rising incidents of theft of the country’s infrastructure and to assure business continuity, he hereby announced a temporary export ban of copper and copper alloy scrap which has mostly been affected by the theft.
“Scrap Yards are also hereby prohibited from buying or receiving copper and copper alloys of any kind until further notice. This ban is implemented with immediate effect and will continue until proper guidelines and regulations on the dealings of the copper and metal scrap are put in place.
“The ministry will work with agencies at all ports of entry to ensure that trucks do not leave the borders carrying copper and copper alloy scraps. The ministry will also be engaging the security forces to ensure compliance with this temporary ban by all concerned,” said the minister.
Khumalo further said meanwhile, all stakeholders are urged to work together in developing and/or aligning on a sustainable long-term policy position on the matter.
