By Kefiloe Kajane
Theft of power lines belonging to the power utility company Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) are costing the entity a loss estimated at M21-million annually.
In a recent press briefing, LEC’s managing director Mohato Seleke told the media the company was incurring huge financial losses due to theft of the company property, especially the cables.
Through vandalism, the LEC is plunged into financial disarray as cables are ripped open to steal copper which is then sold in scrap yards.
Seleke said the acts hamper efficient power supply services and the energy network.
“It is really a huge problem. We really appeal to our people to stop this because as a way to recover that loss, we pass it to the consumers that is why you will see tariffs increasing slightly because we are trying to recover the losses we have incurred.
“It happens everywhere in the country, but so far Quthing ranks number one. We want people to know that such criminal acts are cause for concern and are also a danger to our society,” Seleke cried out.
Speaking to theReporter, a local scrap yard owner based at Naleli in Maseru, Thabo Patose, said he had heard a lot about cable theft, but he has never come across anyone offering to sell him the stolen equipment.
He explained copper was a hard-to-find metal and wondered how the criminals were managing to source the devices.
“I really believe they obtain the equipment illegally because locally you can’t access copper that easily. I will not accept it without thorough investigation as to find its source. It is not good because stealing from your country is the same as stealing from yourself That is wrong,” Patose proclaimed.
In 2014 the LEC embarked on a nationwide awareness campaign, which sought to educate communities about the need to safeguard electricity infrastructure, and the dangers of vandalising such property.
