Another week and yet again residents of Laudium are faced with crime, despite the local police and the CPF claiming to be actively addressing the high crime issue in the area.
This follows a number of thefts, especially car thefts reported in the area. Not only is the incidence of car theft high, but ironically the thefts are mainly from areas where there are street gates, which are mainly monitored by guards who are said to be poorly trained, poorly paid and working under poor conditions. Despite this shocking state of affairs, Cllr Naeem Patel and CPF District Head, Shaheen Wahab, both from the ANC and both apparently in cahoots with the dominant security company, Khans Tactical, are yet to make a public statement concerning the failing service from the said security company. However, Patel has been quick to post about complaints he apparently received against PAJ Security, headed by Cllr Prajay Ramjee of ActionSA.
This follows another vehicle being stolen, this time late on Sunday afternoon (Nov 16) at around 5:30pm. The car, a silver Toyota Etios, (reg: DM 98 FB GP), was believed to have been stolen, seemingly by two Black males, in front of a house on the gated Pendant Street, in Laudium.
Fazila Shiek of Pendant Str, Laudium, the owner of the car that was stolen, told the Laudium Sun, “We were inside our house as the weather was not good and it was raining almost the whole day. My husband, Ashraf, was also indoors and since we were planning to go out a bit later, he parked the car in front of the house, just outside our gate. However, when my husband went outside at around 5:45pm, he was shocked to discover that our car was gone and nowhere to be found. He immediately shouted for me and when I went outside I learned about the theft. We panicked and searched around the area, hoping it might have rolled because of the strong wind that day, or had somehow moved, but the car was simply missing. With the help of our neighbour’s CCTV footage, we discovered that the vehicle had been stolen by unknown individuals. We couldn’t exactly identify their race, although some people who saw the footage say its Black guys who stole our car. The image was not clear as it was captured from a distance and thus was not clear enough to recognise the features. What is really upsetting is that our street is gated and there is a security guard stationed right next to the entrance gate. Our house is also not far from the gate, yet the thieves still managed to enter the area and steal the car without being noticed. This is extremely disappointing because if criminals can still operate so easily inside a gated area, then what is the purpose of the gates or the security guards and what are residents paying for? The management responsible for the gates and the owners of Khans Tactical must take accountability for the continuous crime taking place inside the gated neighbourhoods. We cannot keep on living like this in fear all the time. Vehicles are also being stolen, one after another and the crime situation does not seem to be improving at all. We urgently need better security, proper monitoring and guards who are attentive and actively doing their job, instead of sleeping while on duty. Our safety and our belongings should not be compromised in a place that is supposed to be secure.”
Yusuf Ismail, a tailor from Pendant Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I was about to knock off from work when I heard that my neighbour’s car had been stolen. I operate my tailoring business from the same yard, yet I didn’t hear anything unusual at the time of the theft. i know their car was parked outside, as I had seen it earlier, but nothing appeared suspicious or out of place throughout the day. Everything seemed completely normal, which is why it was such a shock to hear that the car had disappeared, without anyone noticing or hearing a thing. This is extremely strange and worrying, because the car was parked very close to the gated entrance of our street. There are usually security guards patrolling the area and with the high level of security that is supposed to be in place, one would expect incidents like this to be prevented. It really raises the question of how a car can be stolen in an area that is supposed to have tight security, with even streets closed with gates. Something is clearly not right and it shows that more effective measures are desperately needed.”
Parbhoo Ranchod, also of Pendant Street, told the Laudium Sun, “It is a complete waste of the money that we pay every month for security services at the gates. The gates have become meaningless because almost every week we hear about a car being stolen or a break-in happening in our area. We contribute to these security costs with the expectation that our homes, vehicles and families will be protected, yet criminals continue to operate freely. It is extremely disappointing and unacceptable that despite having street gated controls and security guards, crime still keeps happening without any real improvement.”
