VANDALISM AND THEFT OF SERVICE INFRASTRUCTURE IN INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS - COPPERHEADS TO INTERVENE

The City of Cape Town 's major programme to install and upgrade services in informal settlements is being destroyed by crime and vandalism. For every R3 that we spend on basic services in our 222 informal settlements, R2 is spent on repairs to vandalised and stolen infrastructure. Without this problem, we could deliver services at three times the speed we currently do.

Thieves and vandals have struck a large number of upgrade projects and have robbed local residents of water and sanitation.

In the last financial year we installed 422 water stand pipes in informal settlements, but had to make 5482 repairs to vandalised or stolen pipes and taps. In that year we also installed 2458 toilets, but had to make 4302 repairs to vandalised cisterns, pans, pipes and ablution structures.

In the current financial year this situation has continued. Although we have greatly increased the roll-out of toilets, having installed 2840 halfway through the year (nearly 400 more than the whole of the previous year), we have also had to make 1028 repairs to vandalised or stolen infrastructure. And so far we have installed water 186 standpipes, but we have had to make 1942 repairs. We have a capital budget of R65 million for the current financial year for basic services in informal settlements. But we spend a large portion of this on replacing stolen infrastructure, as well as most of our R60 million operating budget for repairs and maintenance in informal settlements on fixing vandalised infrastructure.

We have managed to reduce theft of copper and other metal, which used to be re-sold, by only using plastic or steel for pipes, and concrete for toilets. Underground cables are now covered with cement so that they cannot be dug out. Our Copperheads task team has also cracked down on dealers of stolen scrap metal, greatly reducing our losses.

But we are now seeing a new pattern develop, where even plastic pipes are stolen, and concrete toilets are smashed [please see a list of examples from the past two months appended below].

Some of this is pure vandalism.

In some cases the motive is political, either aimed against the ward councillor, or as a general gesture of protest.

In some cases, concrete wall panels, wood and steel doors, and roofing from ablution facilities are stolen and used by residents on their own building structures. In other cases, plastic pipes are dug up for private use or re-sale.

Most concerning of all, our officials report that vandalism is also carried out in some cases to secure more jobs for repair work in the local community. Currently the City of Cape Town has a policy whereby basic infrastructure contracts are awarded to bidders in a standard tender process, but with the proviso that labour is used from local communities.

This creates a perverse incentive in some cases for people to destroy the recently installed infrastructure to secure employment in repair work.

While we want to create local employment this is not always possible. When contractors employ other labour, local communities often drive the contractors out of the area, delaying projects by months and years.

Vandalism and theft are causing delays to the implementation of our Informal Settlement Master Plan. We are currently calculating the full cost, including repairs, delays, theft and destruction of property.

It is driving up the price of the projects we are implementing under this plan. We have to keep replacing stolen material and redoing work. We have to use extra concrete and bolts to secure pipes and cables. And contractors are becoming unwilling to tender for work in informal areas, so we now have to pay more to attract competent contractors to do the work. All of this is impacting on our budgeting process, our service provision, and is wasting funds.

We have found that it is generally a small minority of individuals within a community that perpetrate these kinds of acts.

We have now expanded the Copperheads unit, renowned for their success in reducing metal theft, to address these other forms of basic service infrastructure theft and vandalism. We are in the process of setting up a toll free hotline, and will advertise the number shortly.

We are also appealing to communities to assist us. Informal settlement upgrades take time, and require patience on the part of everyone. But if residents take ownership of their services, then they can change conditions for the better over time.

There is no way pipes can be stolen from a depth of 1.5 metres below the ground without anyone in the community noticing.

The City's Copperheads task team reports that electricity cables are not being stolen as often from informal areas where they have been installed, since communities police these connections. This shows the power of community participation in reducing theft and vandalism.

There are some politicians, like the Labour Minister on SABC on Friday night, who have tried to capitalise on this problem by claiming we do not spend budgets in informal areas. This is a complete lie. It is also absurd for a Minister who has absolutely no knowledge of our budgets or delivery programmes to make such statements.

APPENDIX

CITY OF CAPE TOWN

WATER AND SANITATION THEFT AND VANDALISM REPORT FEB 2009

COSTING IMPLICATIONS

Cisterns@  R250,00 to replace
Steel Doors@  R800,00 to replace
Concrete structure  @  R  2500,00 to replace
Pans  @  R 150,00 to replace
Pan connectors @  R30,00 to replace
Standpipe@  R  2500,00 to replace
160 mm dia PVC pipes@  R90,00 to replace per meter length

EXAMPLES OVER PAST THREE MONTHS

1. BM Section:During Dec 08 to Jan 09

• 420 toilets installed of which 55 were vandalized (either cistern was removed or cistern internal parts removed)
• Ablution blocks: 14 doors removed, electricity cables removed.
• 50 Concrete structures stolen during Nov 08.
• 55 cisterns removed , 50 Pans removed
• 12 metres of plastic pipe (that was laid 1.5 metres underground) was also removed.  Local labour was used on this project and these people (allegedly) sabotaged the infrastructure in order to secure more work, with no regard for the sanitation need of fellow residents.
• In addition, an on-site container of the contractor was also broken into with various materials from cisterns and fittings stolen, including a drill.

2. Blikkies Dorp TRA (along Symphony Way )

• Of the 400 toilets installed 100 were vandalized (either cistern or internal parts of cistern removed)
• Wash troughs were also broken off and needed to be refitted

3. Philippi TRA:  Dec 08

• All 26 ablution blocks (6 toilets each) were vandalized.
• First the copper fittings were stolen on the supply leadings.  In order to prevent water loss the supply was turned off to the various ablution blocks.
•  No water supply presented the opportunity to vandalize the cisterns (either the cisterns or the internal parts were removed).

4. Delft TRA:  Jan 09

• Within the first week of installing 232 new toilets, 20 were vandalized (either cistern, internal parts or pots where damaged).
• Of the 464 originally installed toilets, 191 cisterns have been removed and 100 pans where broken.

5. Sheffield Road / Browns Farm:  Jan 09

• Residents in formal houses overturned 5 newly placed toilet top structures across the road from them. Last week their primary complaint was that they do not want informal settlement toilets close to them.

6. RR Section:

• 6 chemical toilets were burned for no apparent reason (there were no complaints and service quality was good)

7. TR Section / RR Section:  Jan 09

• Newly refurbished ablution blocks were vandalized. Roof sheets were removed to gain entry and various fittings and cisterns were stolen.
• 14 toilet doors stolen. Our office realized this when leaks were reported without these units being open and operational.
• 6 Plastic chemical toilets burnt out during Jan 09

8. TT section  Jan 09

• All water pipes and fittings stolen from ablution block just days before it was about to be opened.

9. Bardale (Mfuleni)  Jan 09

• 10 water standpipes completely removed.

10. Monwood South  Aug - Sept 08

• Fittings and water pipes stolen from 50 new full flush toilets (During August to September 08).

11. Browns Farm Remainder 

• 5 Steel doors stolen during Nov. 08

12. Monwood Private

• 10 Cisterns removed and stolen during Nov 08

 13. Phola Park Philippi  Dec 08

• 2 Cisterns removed, 10 padlocks removed and doors damaged, water pipes vandalised.

Statement issued by the Mayor of Cape Town, Helen Zille, February 8 2009