Rwanda: Cable Theft Plagues Electrogaz

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Focus Media (Kigali)

23 June 2008
Posted to the web 23 June 2008

Timothy Kisambira

"Because of the higher demand and the decrease of raw material from mines, theft of electric cables is on the increase," says Stanley Nkubito, the head of the fraud investigation unit at the national electricity supplier.

A kilogram of copper, according to Nkubito, was sold last year at Frw 3,000 compared to Frw 500 in 2004. He explains that the thieves steal the cables and then melt them in order to produce new copper wires that are packed in sacks, ready for export.

As a result, he points out, if the cables are not traced before they are melted, it becomes near impossible for Electrogaz to tell whether they belong to the company or not.

"There are people who are legally dealing in copper cables, so it is extremely difficult once they are packed for export to distinguish the stolen ones from the legal ones," Nkubito explains.

To illustrate this, Stanly Nkubito refers to a case last year, where a container of such copper wires was seized. It belonged to a Lebanese businessman who was dragged to court by Electrogaz, but they lost the case because they could not conclusively prove that the cables were stolen.

According to Nkubito, the main transit markets are Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, from where they are shipped to India and China. However, there is also a local demand, so some of the material ends up in Gacinjiro.

As for the culprits, the head of Electrogaz's fraud investigation unit points to the scrap metal business across the country, as well as to people who try to get the cables out of the country, often simply using Jaguar Buses.

And it seems to be an uphill battle, which is costing the electricity company loads of money. Last year, Nkubito says, the loss amounted to nearly Frw 420 million. "And this only represents te cases we know about, because sometimes people don't report the theft and simply replace the stolen cables themselves," he remarks.

The situation has dire consequences, and not only for Electrogaz. Given that there was a high rate of theft in 2006, and that the crimes continued in 2007, it reached a point where the company simply wasn't capable anymore to replace the cables. "As a consequence, communities in different parts of the country were forced to raise money amongst themselves to buy new cables," Stanley Nkubito says.

The situation does not seem to get better: whereas there seemed to be improvement in the first months of this year, thefts are once again on the rise since April. As a result, Electrogaz is now taking tough measures to stop the crimes.

"We have put informers in place all over the country, most of whom have been involved in this kind of business in the past; so they know how and when cables are stolen, and most probably where they are sold and who is the buyer. If an informer reports a case and we can catch the thief, he receives Frw 50,000," the head of the fraud investigation unit explains.

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Efforts are also being made to block the regional trade in the cables. "We collaborate with authorities on all the East African country borders to help us track down these dealers," Nkubito explains. "Moreover, the revenue authority is also helping us because people exporting scrap metal must pass through Magerwa, where their merchandise can be checked before it leaves the country."

He adds that Electrogaz has also tried to sensitize people through the media on the dangers of this kind of theft, and the responsibility of people in the fight against such crimes.

"All citizens have a responsibility in stopping this, Stanly Nkubito says. "These cables are essential for us to supply electricity, which we all need."

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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
Procurement Consultant
Gsm: +250-08470205
Home: +250-55104140
P.O. Box 3867
Kigali-Rwanda
East Africa
Blog: http://www.cepgl.blogspot.com
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