MTN South Africa has unveiled a partnership with police in the Eastern Cape to crack down on infrastructure crime affecting its communication high sites.
The agreement, with the Eastern Cape Provincial Police Board and the Eastern Cape Community Police Forum (CPF), is designed to protect critical network infrastructure, including base stations, which have seen 71 incidents of vandalism in the last six months.
“Both the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the CPF in the Eastern Cape will be contributing to the initiative by deploying law enforcement personnel and community patrollers to monitor and respond to security breaches at MTN network base stations in the affected communities,” MTN said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The partnership focuses on strengthening collaboration between MTN, the Eastern Cape SAPS and the CPF in high-risk areas such as Mthatha and Queenstown,” it added.
A similar initiative was launched in Gauteng in 2023, which MTN said resulted in “measurable success”: a 35% reduction in MTN-related crime and asset losses in the province.
“Continuing this momentum with the Eastern Cape will enhance crime-fighting efforts, particularly with the strategic support of the SAPS critical infrastructure task team,” said MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi.
MTN will provide the Mthatha SAPS joint operations centre with laptops, computers, printers, furniture, power supply units and internet connectivity to support their operational needs. In addition, CPF patrollers will receive equipment, including uniforms, panic buttons and two-way radios.
Crime pattern analysis
Mobile licence plate recognition cameras will be installed in selected SAPS patrol vehicles, too.
MTN will share crime intelligence and crime pattern analysis with the SAPS and the CPF to enhance their response efforts.
Read: Vodacom sees spike in base station crime in some provinces
In addition, the parties will implement a “continuous monitoring framework designed to track reductions in theft and vandalism and ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the partnership”. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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