{"id":877088,"date":"2026-09-28T09:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T07:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=877088"},"modified":"2026-09-28T09:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T07:36:16","slug":"end-of-cash-for-one-group-of-people-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/877088\/end-of-cash-for-one-group-of-people-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"End of cash for one group of people in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has called for a ban on all cash transactions by scrap metal dealers to protect the country’s infrastructure from vandalism and illicit trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a new policy brief published this week, the SAHRC took aim at the theft and trafficking of copper cables and scrap metal from public infrastructure, calling it a human rights crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the vandalism and theft of this infrastructure are routinely framed in economic and law-enforcement terms, the commission said it is also a crisis of rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because this activity repeatedly disrupts access to constitutionally protected services, leaving South Africans vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Where the State fails to take reasonable and effective measures to prevent foreseeable harm, enforce the law, restore services and protect affected communities, constitutional responsibility may arise,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Communities already living at the margins of service delivery bear the greatest harm.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theft of metals from public infrastructure is also a crisis in terms of the cost to the economy, where it is estimated at R45 billion annually from the fiscus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission cited thousands of kilometres of copper cable stolen from state infrastructure groups such as Eskom and Transnet, resulting in hundreds of millions of rands in losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critically, this stolen metal is trafficked across borders, with a 2026 crime intelligence report indicating that 121 tonnes of suspected stolen copper were transported internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission said that the government needs to step up its action against the crime, and the first port of call would be to recognise it as a human rights crisis and adjust their actions accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Parliament and the relevant Portfolio Committees should formally acknowledge infrastructure vandalism as a human rights crisis and not merely an economic or security matter,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It recommended that the government then move to fast-track regulatory reforms, particularly around second-hand goods, to combat the sale of stolen metals through legitimate trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a key part of combating the crime, it said, as enforcement is currently focused on the individuals and networks physically removing infrastructure\u2014not the platforms through which they are traded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mandatory cashless transactions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The commission noted that the Second-Hand Goods Amendment Bill has been approved for public comment, but no gazetted publication of the Bill has been identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill specifically targets cable theft, stolen goods, and unlawful scrap metal trades, and aims to strengthen the oversight mechanisms outlined in the original Second-Hand Goods Act (SHGA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAHRC said the bill needs to be published for public comment without further delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of the fight against stolen metals, the commission put forward a key proposal to address the platforms used to trade cable theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is to implement mandatory cashless transactions for scrap metal dealers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Cash transactions reduce traceability and can facilitate the movement of stolen metal through apparently legitimate transactions,” the commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this end, it said that the Financial Intelligence Centre should be directed to monitor suspicious patterns in scrap metal transactions and report to SAPS and ITAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critically, it said the SHGA should be amended to include a mandatory cashless payment requirement for all copper scrap transactions, with electronic records retained for at least 5 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The illicit scrap metal economy cannot be addressed through criminal enforcement alone,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Scrap metal dealers, recyclers, transporters, exporters and other businesses in the metal value chain have a responsibility to ensure that their operations do not contribute to human rights harm.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Communities that lose access to water because a pump station has been stripped, or to essential services because electricity infrastructure has been vandalised, are not experiencing a mere inconvenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Their enjoyment of constitutional rights is being materially impaired.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The full policy brief can be read below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n