Numbi Road safety initiative warmly welcomed

The Hazyview Chamber of Business and Tourism (HCBT) and the community welcomed the added private security to patrol the notorious Numbi Road. The chairperson of the HCBT, Goodman Nkosi, said the introduction of Hi-Tech Security to assist the police patrolling the area to protect tourists will benefit the tourism industry.

“We believe that the intervention will bring hope to tour guides who have been avoiding the road because they do not want to be attacked while transporting their customers. We are prepared to work with them where we can. The recent tourist attacks on the Numbi Road affected our businesses, as some of our clients did not want to enter the Kruger National Park there.”
“We believe the introduction of this private security to patrol the area will revive it, and local businesses should also benefit from it,” Nkosi said.

The HCBT said it would support private security companies in the same way it supports the police and other organisations working towards the same goal of safeguarding the area. Nkosi also pleaded with the local government to rehabilitate the road, as some criminals were taking advantage of the potholes and speed bumps to attack tourists.

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“We believe that if the road can be rehabilitated, it will boost tourism,” he concluded.

Some locals have said they now feel safer on the road. Monica Ntiwane, who works at one of the retail shops in the vicinity, said she was attacked more than five times while walking back home from work in the evenings. “Since Hi-Tech started to patrol the area, it is much safer than before. Now we can walk any time without fear,” she said.

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