Looting: Contingency plans in place at local malls
Three malls in the city were contacted to establish their contingency plans.
POLOKWANE – The community of Polokwane maintains it will not allow any of its residents to take part in the nationwide looting that started over the weekend of July 9. The country has since witnessed looting and destruction on an escalated scale, with the burning of trucks and shops in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in the days that followed.
Premier Chupu Mathabatha during his special exco media briefing mentioned that only one truck and one bus had been torched in Dennilton on July 12, making it the only public violence incident in the province.
“Police were able to disperse a mob that was planning to loot at Dennilton Mall and identified that as purely criminal incident. The security cluster has information about individuals across the province who are trying to cause public violence and they are being attended in terms of the law.”
Mathabatha says destruction in its very nature brings along many unintended consequences.
“We urge our communities to remain vigilant and be on high alert. As a province, we cannot afford to interrupt our Covid-19 vaccine rollout plans and therefore, we will not be part of the ongoing public violence. Our men and women in blue are combat-ready to deal with any protestor who may wish to spoil our provincial resolution that we will not be part of any destruction of property and public violence.”
Malls
Three malls in the city were contacted to establish their contingency plans.
Limpopo Mall management declined to comment, while the management of Savannah Mall said the closure of business on Tuesday was a precaution to ensure the safety of shoppers and tenants. The mall was open the next day and management says it is working closely with the police and the CPF who will be monitoring the situation in Polokwane.
“Should anything arise, the police will notify us and an evacuation plan will be put into motion. No tenants will be forced to trade and should they feel unsafe, they are more than welcome to close their doors.”
Sumari de Ridder, general manager at Mall of the North says they are thankful to the police, fire department and the taxi associations who have been supporting them during this time of unrest.
“The safety of our shoppers and tenants is of utmost importance at Mall of the North. Trading times may vary but we are closely monitoring the situation as the safety of shoppers, staff and tenants remain of the highest priority.”
