28 Jan 2015

Commercial farmers in Pandamatenga have complained about the rising cases of diesel and produce theft on their farms.

In an interview recently, Mr Ian Cumming, a commercial farmer, said he lost 438 litres of diesel to thieves recently. “The diesel was stolen on the night of December 30, 2014, along with a battery and a solar panel,” he said.

Reports from farmers indicated that diesel was often drained directly from the farmers’ machinery while parked in the farms. Tractors, planters and other machineries had been found with empty tanks after thieves drained them at night. Another farmer, Mr Cumming said, he lost P14 000 worth of diesel to theft.

As if that was not bad enough, there had also been reports of harvest in the form of sorghum and beans getting stolen as well. “Thieves come at night with bakkies and load the harvest onto their cars and drive off,” explained Mr Cumming.

“The past two years have been the worst,” Mr Cumming’s wife Sheilah noted. With a construction company on site for the Pandamatenga Agricultural Infrastructure project, theft of diesel had been on the rise, she said. 

Though brought to justice, the same crime was reportedly on the increase and Ms Cumming suspected that this was done by the same people. The Cummings felt that sentencing was not strict enough. “Sentencing remains very light which is why the culprits still go back to stealing, they only get a few lashes” said Ms Cumming.

Another farmer, Mr Paul van Dyk said that he had also at some point fallen victim to this trend. “Two hundred and twenty (220) litres of diesel was stolen from my farm about three years ago,” he said.

He opined that this just might be a sign of development. “With more farmers and more tractors, theft is now more of a problem than ever,” he says adding that theft often comes with development. “It is a sign of the peak of the moment,” he noted. Like the Cummings, van Dyk also holds the view that severity of the punishment must be raised.

Mr Kholisani Mpofu, another commercial farmer noted that employees are often involved in these criminal activities as they have insider information. He noted that there was also another incident in which chemicals in the form of fertiliser were stolen from the fields. “As a way of combating this, we have formed a security committee to look into this matter as farmers,” he said.

Station commander for Pandamatenga, Superintendent Mack Sonny confirmed that they have received reports of several cases of stolen diesel. “In the last quarter alone we registered seven cases,’ he said.

“We have arrested a lot of people who were found carrying diesel in containers which they could not account for,” he said. Some of the thieves have been arrested and their cases are at the magistrate court. He confirmed that the Chinese contractors have also fallen victim to the crime. “Locals and farm employees have been implicated in these crimes,” he noted.

He explained that the diesel is often stolen from different farming machinery that was left unattended at the farms. Supt Sonny noted that while they do their best to patrol, they are unable to cover all the farms. So far, he said they address kgotla meetings to try and sensitise the community about the rising crime.

Diesel stolen from the farms is apparently sold to truck drivers and other motorists at a cheaper price and a particular fuelling spot in Pandamatenga has been identified as a lucrative market to sell this. ENDS