Thumbs up for Councillor Essop
The Laudium Sun joins many businesses, professionals, religious leaders and most importantly, members of the community of Ward 61 (Laudium, Erasmia, Claudius and Itireleng) in saluting our Ward Councillor, Mahomed Essop for calling an urgent meeting this past Tuesday, with the local police, security companies in the area and the business forum, after news surfaced of a possible mob invasion of looters, into the area.
There was panic and fear amongst businesses with shops hurriedly pulling down shutters and residents locking the doors and windows of their homes. Fear ran down the spines of residents who believed that an attack was imminent as seen in other parts of Gauteng and KZN, via social media platforms, where merciless looters went in groups of 100s on a rampage, ransacking businesses and destroying property. Since the start of the looting this past weekend, over 100 people have died and almost 2000 have been arrested. Billions of Rand of damage has been caused. At the meeting, the police assured Councillor Essop that Ward 61 was not under threat and that they were monitoring the situation closely. This news brought a sense of relief to the community, with businesses returning to normal the next day. The Laudium Sun also compliments local businesses for not hoarding goods and increasing prices during these trying times, especially the super- markets It is important that we all stand united as a community, black & white, rich & poor, across all faiths and political affiliations. We need to condemn this thuggery and looting, the country is presently facing, in the strongest terms possible, as it is clearly an attempt to steal the freedom we enjoy today, which many South Africans have sacrificed their lives for.
