Michael Sun, Gauteng Provincial Legislature member and community safety spokesman, stated the gazetting of amendments to modify regulations in the Second-hand Goods Act will “combat metal theft and enhance control of the scrap metal trade”.
The amendments, he notes in a statement, cover five specific areas. They are enhanced registration and reporting, the future inclusion of “semi-finished metals,” additional restrictions on copper, and implementation of a single reporting system. The new regulations, according to Sun, come in the wake of his party’s appeals for a co-ordinated approach to the South African scrap metal sector, involving dealers, government, and law enforcement.
As examples of the damage wrought by metal theft in Gauteng, Sun cites the May fire on Johannesburg’s M1 which saw a gas line ruptured and “a threat” posed to an open cycle gas turbine sub-station valued at R100 million.
“City Power and Gautrain operations are continuously disrupted by these criminals [cable thieves],” he said, adding it has “a devastating impact on the provincial economy, negatively affecting infrastructure across sectors including the transportation, telecommunication and energy industries”.
Sun wants the Gauteng department of community safety, now residing in Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s office, and the department of economic development, to “put policies and plans” in place to regulate the scrap metal market and clean-up recycling value chains “that tend to include scrap metal”.
Elias Monage, the President of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA), is not in agreement. Monage stated the regulations are “not proportionate nor appropriate industry regulation to achieve the desired ends and minimize resultant harm.” He further warned that the proposed regulations would “have severe unintended consequences.”
SEIFSA believes there is a need for “further constructive and meaningful engagement with the Minister and industry stakeholders”. Monage added this would be crucial in paving a path forward “for a lasting solution to eliminate theft and damage to infrastructure, in a manner that is workable for all players, avoiding the unintended consequences that some of the draft policy regulations will yield.”
