South Africa’s infrastructure vandalism epidemic: A crisis demanding immediate action

South Africa is confronting a rampant and insidious epidemic of infrastructure vandalism and  theft, which has escalated from isolated incidents to a pervasive and debilitating menace.  

Recently, the department of water and sanitation sounded the alarm on a disturbing surge in vandalism targeting water infrastructure nationwide. 

In Gauteng, a crisis unfolded in January 2024 as the department of roads and transport  issued a desperate plea to the public to report acts of vandalism, following a staggering  surge in theft and destruction targeting traffic signals, which inflicted a R30 million blow to the province’s coffers.  

In the Western Cape, Beverley van Reenen, the City of Cape Town’s energy mayoral  committee member, sounded a dire warning in March 2024 about the relentless  onslaught of attacks on the city’s electricity infrastructure, leaving local communities  vulnerable and exposed. The city has recently noted that in just a few months, it has spent  over R7 million to fix vandalised electricity infrastructure.  

In KwaZulu Natal, the eThekwini metro municipality was forced to impose water restrictions  across multiple areas just last month, after the oThongathi Water Treatment Works fell prey to theft and vandalism, imperilling the water supply and plunging  residents into uncertainty. 

Vandalism targeting public infrastructure exacts an astounding toll on the economy, with losses hovering around an estimated R187 billion a year. This figure  eclipses the economic effects of other criminal elements in the infrastructure sector, including the construction mafia, which has become a focal point of the government’s anti-crime  efforts. The latter is estimated to drain a significant R68 billion from the economy each year,  primarily through extortion, project delays and cancellations.  

Beyond the staggering financial losses, the consequences of vandalism reverberate deeply in the  daily lives of citizens, who are frequently subjected to electricity outages, water cuts and restrictions, disrupted transportation services, prolonged communication blackouts, and  diminished access to essential public services, ultimately eroding their quality of life and sense  of security. 

Despite the consequences, South Africa’s efforts to combat infrastructure vandalism remains inadequate, lacking a unified and forward-thinking strategy. The  country’s response is characterised by a paradox: a reactive approach focused on  investigations and prosecutions, rather than a proactive approach centred on prevention and pre-emption.  

While the recent signing of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill into law by President Cyril  Ramaphosa, which introduces stringent penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment or R5 million  in fines for electrical infrastructure vandalism, and the growing trend of perpetrators being  brought to justice and handed severe sentences, such as the recent case of five Zimbabweans sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for theft of solar batteries and copper cables in  the Northern Cape, are encouraging developments, they are piecemeal solutions that do not address the root causes of the problem, underscoring the government’s overall reactionary  approach to combating infrastructure vandalism.

Effectively combating infrastructure vandalism necessitates a preventive approach, wherein  the imposition of stringent penalties is complemented by a comprehensive proactive strategy  that prioritises bolstering the state’s anti-vandalism enforcement capabilities.  

This approach ought to incorporate cutting-edge solutions that amplify surveillance capabilities  through advanced technologies, enhance intelligence gathering and analysis to identify potential  threats, foster collaborative community engagement and participation, and enable targeted interventions to pre-empt and prevent attacks before they materialise, thereby fortifying our  defences and safeguarding our critical infrastructure. 

Additionally, the imperative for government departments to harmonise their efforts cannot be  overstated. The recent call by minister of transport Barbara Creecy for “collective responsibility” in  preventing public infrastructure vandalism resonates profoundly. To this end, the state must  swiftly convene a synergistic partnership comprising departments driving infrastructure development (public works & infrastructure, transport), those stewarding our social and  economic infrastructure (electricity, education, health, social development), and the  investigative and prosecutorial divisions (Hawks, police, National Prosecuting Authority).  

This multi-departmental unit ought to serve as a national nexus, convening civil society and  private sector stakeholders to foster innovative solutions, forward-thinking policies, and robust  enforcement protocols that fortify anti-vandalism efforts, ultimately creating a cohesive and  resilient framework for safeguarding our nation’s assets. 

By establishing such a collaborative unit that optimises scarce resources through efficient and  effective allocation, we can shift away from fragmented approaches and toward a more cohesive  understanding of the problem. This, in turn, will enable us to devise and implement  comprehensive measures to mitigate the destruction of our public assets, ultimately  safeguarding the very foundation of our shared infrastructure. 

Siseko Maposa is director of Surgetower Associates, a management consultancy  specialising in government, corporate and foreign affairs.