The City of Johannesburg is replacing cast iron and steel manhole covers with non-metal products to combat vandalism and theft, which costs the city millions of rands every year.

This was confirmed by Johannesburg Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Councillor Christine Walters.

MMC Walters said the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), the City’s roads infrastructure development and maintenance entity, would from the beginning of the new financial year on July 1 turn to materials such as ductile iron, plastic, fibreglass and polymer to cover manholes throughout the city and put an end to financial losses.

In the 2013-2014 financial year alone, more than 3 200 cast iron and steel manhole covers were reported stolen, forcing JRA to replace them at a total cost R2.9 million.

According to Mpho Kau, acting Managing Director of JRA, the current manhole covers are targeted by thieves and vandals because of their resale value.

“The problem with this kind of theft is that it is global. It worsens when the price of scrap metal is high,” continued Kau.

“This spate of infrastructure theft and vandalism is direct sabotage and devaluation of the City’s infrastructure assets and poses a safety hazard to road users. Kau said the new materials weighed “considerably less” than the existing covers.

The metal manhole covers currently in use weigh in excess of 140kg. The new, non-metal ones weigh three quarters less and “are much more robust in design,” Kau said.

“They will also carry the JRA-branded logo, have no significant resale value and comply with all relevant JRA and South African Bureau of Standards’ specifications.”

The JRA piloted the new manhole covers in selected areas and the results proved positive.

“The specification has been approved and we are now procuring the products,” Kau said.