MTN South Africa has recently experienced a surge in vandalism of transformers and the siphoning of diesel at its mobile base stations.
The problem is being experienced in Gauteng and Mpumalanga, with the situation “rife” in Limpopo, the mobile operator said on Friday.
It said the vandalism appears to be the work of a syndicate whose members compromise the electric fencing around MTN sites and then steal batteries that power the base stations.
MTN South Africa’s chief customer experience officer, Eddie Moyce, decried the increasing cases of the theft of fuel from its sites as well as the vandalism of transformers.
“We urge the community to report this kind of crime as it hinders the delivery of much-needed communications services,” Moyce said. He added that these acts “could have a devastating impact” and could result in “crippling our network”.
He said it is only through the “continued support of the community” that the operator is able to combat incidents of theft and vandalism and “ensure quality of services”. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media