Johannesburg- Around two decades ago, a friend told me how big and lucrative the scrap metal business is; how the market is cornered by a few companies that made it almost impossible for new entrants to come in; and how often cargo ships, laden with scrap metal, left our shores to sail to destinations in the East, mainly.
By and large, the scrap metal business was legitimate then. Big companies, including Eskom, Transnet, Prasa and other large ones, were sources of scrap that fed the business.
Over the years, the scrap metal business has morphed into a devastating saboteur of the South African economy. Not a day passes by without huge chunks of cables being stolen from Eskom, Prasa, Transnet and others.
These public companies, especially Prasa, are on their knees, with some predicting that they will completely collapse in a few years unless something is done quickly.
[membership level=”1″]
There has been talk in official circles that many scrap-yard businesses are a cover for the illicit dealings in scrap metal. Rightly, the matter was discussed in Parliament, and if memory still holds, a bill was brought before the House to regulate the operations of scrap-yards in this regard. Among other things, the scrapyards were to record all scrap received in a register, which would reveal its origin and final destination.
It is not clear if this was ever implemented.
Meanwhile, a visit to any railway station shows the devastation caused on the facilities by the illegal and brazen harvesting of metal fittings.
The thieves are now removing the railway tracks, while other people build shacks on railway lines and refuse to move away.
It is estimated that hundreds of billions of rands would be needed to restore our railways to respectable functionality. But in the meantime, our roads are clogged by trucks carrying goods that should be on rail, damaging the roads and causing accidents.
Commuters, especially the workers, who should be using the much cheaper and safer trains, are forced to use the more expensive and accident-prone taxis to go to work. These mini-buses also contribute towards heavy traffic on our roads and the corresponding carnage.
All well-functioning economies the world over work hard to improve and modernise their railways through technology, innovation and effective management. Most are very proud of their railways as they develop faster and more comfortable and efficient commuter trains.
Their commuter trains are more punctual, faster, reliable and more comfortable than cars, to the extent that company executives, ministers and senior government officials use the trains, instead of cars.
Uncomfortable questions flood the mind when pondering this situation: Why are we like this? Why would we fail to nail the saboteurs who destroy our economy through the theft of cables and other metal assets for decades?
Where are our police, Hawks and intelligence services?
Are the whisperings doing the rounds that senior people in positions of authority are involved in this lucrative illicit trade true? Are there syndicates operating in this environment?
If our security apparatus are unable to solve something like this for decades, how able are they to detect threats to our country and thwart them? Are they perhaps pa rt of these criminal enterprises?
Or is this perhaps a manifestation that as a country we are fast moving towards becoming scrap?
Our municipalities are a mess. Immigration and migration management is probably the worst in the region. We don’t know who is in our country. Almost all SOE’s are near collapse. Poverty and unemployment are dangerously high. Our economy is shrinking at an alarming rate.
Is the distressing situation in the scrap metal sector perhaps symbolic of us as a nation: fast hurtling towards scrap?
- Professor Mangena is former minister of science and technology
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
[/membership] [pmpro_signup submit_button=”Register” level=”1″ login=”1″ redirect=”referrer” short=”false” title=”Thank you for choosing Sunday World, to read this article for free, please register below at no cost.” short=”true” custom_fields=”true”]
