As Laudium continues to grapple with crime and grime, residents are again questioning who is really speaking for them when it comes to safety in the area.
While ANC Ward Councillor Naeem Patel has ‘captured’ various community based organisations including the Laudium CPF and the so called Ward 61 Residents Association, Laudium continues to slide into decay with crime and grime becoming the order of the day. With the Laudium CPF head and chair of the Pakistan South Africa Association, Zahid ul Zama, also spending considerable time promoting the ANC and Patel, residents continue to feel left out as the CPF seems to be voiceless in addressing the safety concerns of residents. Concerns have also been raised about the role of Councillor Patel, the Laudium CPF and the so called Ward 61 Residents Association, with residents saying that crime continues while they are left without detailed crime statistics from the local Police and the CPF.
This follows the Laudium Sun this week again receiving complaints about crime in the area from concerned residents, for stats purposes. In one of the latest incidents, two Black thieves broke into a silver BMW parked outside a home in a gated street area on 15th Avenue, Laudium, in the early hours of this past Monday (Sept 14), at around 4am. The thieves broke the car window to gain entry, before stealing the indicator and several other parts, causing huge damage to the vehicle.
Somit Sankar of 15th Avenue told the Laudium Sun, “It was my client’s car, as I fix cars. There was no space in my yard, so I kept the silver BMW parked outside my house for the night. When I woke up in the morning, I learnt that the car window had been broken and that the indicator and several other parts of the car had been stolen. It was very painful for me because it is my client’s car and I now have to take responsibility for all the damage caused by the thieves. I understand that the car should not have been left outside, but I parked it outside because I did not have enough space in my yard. Also, I never expected something like this to happen during the night as we live on a gated street. I only got to know about the theft when my neighbour approached me and told me what had happened. I then checked the CCTV footage of my neighbour and that is when I saw that there were two Black guys who broke into the car and stole several parts from it. Seeing the footage was very upsetting because these thieves came into the area and damaged a vehicle that did not belong to them and then stole from there. They stole what they wanted and left me with a damaged car and the responsibility of explaining everything to my client. It is a really frustrating situation because I am just trying to make an honest living by fixing cars. This is my business and the work I do helps me support my family and myself, but incidents like this make it very difficult. If criminals can operate so freely in our community, how are people supposed to run their businesses and look after their clients’ property? Today it is a car parked outside my house, but tomorrow these thieves could break into someone’s house or even my own house. This incident also makes me question the security in our area. We have a gate on our street and we pay monthly to Khan’s Security, but criminals are still operating freely. If residents are paying for security, we expect the security measures to actually protect the community and discourage criminals from entering the area. It is frustrating to see thieves moving around, breaking into vehicles and even vandalising and stealing parts, while residents are left to deal with the consequences. It is really ridiculous and something needs to be done about this ongoing crime in Laudium. Residents should be able to sleep at night without worrying about their vehicles being broken into. I hope that the politicians and the Police start taking this matter about crime seriously and that the thieves responsible are arrested and held accountable. We need less talks but better security and more action to protect residents and their property.”
Komras Pillay, a resident from the area, told the Laudium Sun, “The crime rate in Laudium is very, very high and there is absolutely no control. I am extremely concerned about what is happening in our community because criminals seem to be operating without any fear. There are no visible Police patrols in the area. When there is no Police presence, thieves feel that they can do whatever they want because there is nobody around to watch them or stop them. I am worried about the safety of residents and our properties because crime is becoming a serious problem. People should be able to live in their homes and feel safe, but now there is a feeling that we are constantly being watched and could be attacked at any time by these thieves. When thieves can so easily move around the neighbourhood and target vehicles and properties, it shows that something is not working properly. Then there is also the issue of security. I am paying R500 every month to Khan’s Security for the monitoring at the boom gates. I have no problem paying for proper security because I understand that security is important, but what are we paying for if there are no security personnel at the gates to man them? There should be someone monitoring whoever enters and leaves the area and making sure that suspicious activity is noticed and reported. It is pointless for residents to continue paying for a security service when there are no security people at the gates. We are paying our money every month, but we are not getting the level of security that we should be receiving. Residents deserve to know that their contributions are being used for effective protection. I believe there needs to be proper action from the politicians, the Police, the CPF and the security company. We need regular Police patrols, visible security personnel and effective monitoring of the boom gates. There is absolutely no security at the moment. I cannot understand why the CPF and Councillor are not holding the security company to account. We cannot continue living like this.”
