Attacks on Hazyview businesses a grave concern

The Hazyview Chamber of Business and Tourism (HCBT) is concerned about the ongoing business bombings and robberies in the area.

The chamber’s chairperson, Goodman Nkosi, said some of these business robberies, especially ones in which buildings were damaged by explosives, cost too much to recover and were forced to close down.

“Two filling stations and about five foreign-owned tuck shops have been bombed since the beginning of this year, forcing some of them to close permanently and relocate to a safer area. It resulted in job losses, while others are staying at home as owners, trying to rebuild their businesses,” Nkosi said.

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“We are also encouraging the community members to join us in fighting crime, because it affects them as well. The chamber strongly condemns the lootings and said the community needs to protect local businesses at all times and work with the police to fight crime.”

The HCBT has engaged with the police and are going to support any business protection programme.

Some of the business owners, who suffered attacks of about 10 notorious suspects, said they are considering closing their concerns down for the safety of their employees and themselves, because, with the attacks, they are operating at a loss. “It is no longer safe to run a sustainable business with the high rate of crime, as criminals can attack your establishment a few metres away from the police station.”

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A staff member, Sunboy Nkosi, who was hiding in the change room when a Sasol garage was blasted, said he was lucky to be alive, but he still needs his job, even though it is dangerous. “I was hospitalised after the bombing, because I was in the next room where they had put the explosives and I was badly hurt. But I still need my job to survive and feed my family. If the company goes out of business, it will be bad for me and my co-workers. The police need to play their role and work with the communities to end the bombing of businesses in the Hazyview area,” he said.

A provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said they were working around the clock to arrest the perpetrators. However, they appealed to the community to assist them with any information.