VEREENIGING.- Businessman Riaz Choonara has had enough of crime.
He recently wrote a letter to President Jacob Zuma, police commissioners and station commanders appealing against drug lords. Choonara said that for the past two years, their peace-loving community has been victimised and terrorised by bloodthirsty, ruthless criminals operating above the law. “People are living with the agony of unwarranted attacks and naked intimidation. We are terrified and paralysed by fear as parts of the town have been turned into ‘hell on earth’ by ‘unrelenting criminals.’
“Hoodlums have taken over parts of the CBD and they hang around passages, shopping complexes, parks and street corners. Their soft targets are the aged, the frail, women and children.
“The current reign of terror and violent siege has left some businesses contemplating relocation to safer areas outside Vereeniging,” he said.
Choonara adds that ruthless criminals are said to have forged unholy alliances with some crooked elements in the ranks of the SAPS and that drug lords are paying a monthly bribe for protection and the cops on their payroll serve as their informants.
“The saddest thing is that when people report crime they are noted and dealt with – but not in the way you would think. The current state of affairs has the potential to lead the town into a future of lawlessness.
“The Vaal Rand Flying Squad is the exception. They are doing a sterling job to protect inhabitants. The job of the police is to ensure that the rule of law is upheld and to protect the environment. The CBDs are ‘fast slipping into an irreversible quagmire of lawlessness.’ There has to be an end to impunity for the criminality affecting our people.
“President, we respectfully ask you to heed our call before our patience snaps like an elastic band. As business people, we are not scared to fight back. We are peace-loving. To resolve the issue effectively we have convened a working group of civic and religious leaders, politicians and crime experts,” he concludes.
