Kidnapping poses threat to economy

South Africa can still be a global leader in some areas … the latest kidnap statistics for Gauteng put the province on the map with Mexico, a known abductions hot spot.

According to Action Society head Ian Cameron, we could soon become known as a global mecca for kidnappers.

The stratospheric rise in kidnappings was indicated in the provincial crime statistics, released this week. In the latest three-month period, the worst-affected police stations were Vosloorus (57 counts), Johannesburg Central (55 counts) and Tembisa (52 counts).

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That’s an average rate of more than one every two days. Cameron says that most of the kidnappings seem to involve prominent business people and often foreigners.

It is also a reality that abductions are often associated with hijackings, because drivers are taken hostage.

Hijackings have also increased. It is no surprise that violent crimes like kidnapping are on the rise, given that policing in Gauteng – and South Africa as a whole – is glaringly ineffective.

Criminals know they will seldom be caught and, if they are, they can simply flash the cash and the investigation docket will disappear.

Once a country gets a reputation for kidnapping, foreigner investors will run a mile because they won’t risk themselves or their employees.

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