South Africa’s Human Rights Commission Pushes for Mandatory Cashless Copper Scrap Transactions

South Africa could further tighten regulation of its copper scrap trade after the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) recommended mandatory cashless payments for all copper scrap transactions, with electronic payment records retained for at least five years. In a new policy brief released this week, the commission argued that cash reduces transaction traceability and allows stolen copper cable and other infrastructure metals to move more easily through apparently legitimate scrap channels. It therefore proposed amending the Second-Hand Goods Act to explicitly require cashless copper scrap trading. BusinessTech

The SAHRC also recommended that the Financial Intelligence Centre monitor suspicious transaction patterns and report them to SAPS and ITAC, while urging the government to move forward with the proposed Second-Hand Goods Amendment Bill targeting cable theft and illicit scrap trading. Importantly, the cashless requirement is currently a policy recommendation rather than a newly implemented regulation. If incorporated into legislation, however, it would increase traceability and compliance requirements for South African copper scrap collectors, recyclers, traders and exporters.