While controversial known apartheid supporter, Yusuf Abramjee praises Cllr Patel and CPF district head, Shaheen Wahab for doing “a good job,” residents of Erasmia and Laudium remain fed up with the ongoing crime in the area.
Residents say that they see the crime situation going from bad to worse, as thieves get away with crime so easily, stealing anything they can get their hands on, even if it’s of little value.
This, despite both the local CPF’s under the ‘sleepy’ eyes of ANC member, Shaheen Wahab, who is the CPF district head of both areas (unbelievably), being praised by Abramjee. The CPFs under Shaheen claim to patrol the streets of both the areas, together with the SAPS and the Gauteng Wardens. The Wardens have been given BMWs and other vehicles for patrolling at both the Erasmia and Laudium Police Station precincts respectively, by the ANC-led Gauteng Province and are believed to be around 30 members for each station.
In one of the latest incidents of theft, residents are puzzled as to how a thief or thieves managed to steal a dustbin outside a home on Skurweberg Street, Erasmia, last Tuesday morning in broad daylight, without being confronted by any of the security patrollers. Residents say that although the theft of the dustbin would be regarded by many as ‘petty theft,’ it is worrisome that the same thieves could turn to more serious crime as they are so easily getting away with crime, without any consequences.
Sonali Singh, the resident from Skurweberg Str, told the Laudium Sun, “I noticed that our dustbin was stolen after the City of Tshwane waste collection truck came to empty the bins on our street. As usual, we placed our bin outside on Tuesday morning at around 10am, as the truck normally comes down our street thereafter. Later, when I went to collect the empty bin, it was gone. I was surprised, but then I thought that the Council workers could have left our bin in front of one of the neighbour’s houses, so I checked around, but there was no bin. I even asked, but no one had seen it and the bin was nowhere to be found. It was a very upsetting experience—not so much about the dustbin itself or the value of it, but the fact that criminals are now so easily targeting even something of little value such as a dustbin. To me it’s the principle of it. It’s very concerning because today it was a dustbin, but tomorrow it could be our house. Crime is increasing at a rapid rate in our area and it is frightening. Our streets in the area are getting busier these days, with a lot of vagrants seen just walking around, which makes us all feel very uneasy. We need proper and regular police and other security patrols on our street. We are so tired of all the crime in our area, but we cannot allow the criminals to win—we must show that we are stronger than them.”
Adil Raman, another resident of Skurweberg Street, told the Laudium Sun, “A lot of criminals are now very active in our area and because we don’t have proper functioning streetlights, this makes it easier for them to find new ways to steal and break into houses. Crime is increasing every single day and what we need is more community patrollers and regular police patrols. Just where are the Gauteng Wardens who have even been given a BMW to patrol the streets of Erasmia. I believe that if we, as a community, act wisely and work together, we can reduce crime in our area. Otherwise, crime will continue to rise.”
Sean Grobbelaar, also of Skurweberg Street, told the Laudium Sun, “We can no longer walk freely on our street, as we are constantly in fear of these criminals. To be honest, crime is just too high in our area and many incidents of crime are happening around here because we don’t openly discuss the crime situation in our community. I believe we need to take proactive steps, such as appointing night guards.”
