SODWANA Bay residents and business owners are growing concerned over the area’s rise in crime and are calling on iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority to urgently intervene.
This comes as four Swedish women who were holidaying in the area were reportedly attacked on Sodwana Bay’s Main Beach in broad daylight on Wednesday. According to residents, they were stripped of their clothing and assaulted. They were reportedly not raped. The following day, a family was held at knife point while picnicking at Lake Sibaya. The victims in both cases reported their attackers to be three men, two with guns and one with a knife.
Residents told the Zululand Observer that all cases had been reported to Mbazwana SAPS whose officers have been of little help.
Ten incidents, including one where a gang of masked men wearing bullet proof vests, balaclavas and carrying automatic weapons stormed into a lodge and held up the occupants, were reported in December alone.
‘Over the years, crime has escalated from petty burglaries, where money and small items were stolen, to violent attacks from gun-and knife-wielding men,’ said one concerned resident.
Tourism at risk
Residents are now calling on the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority to intervene in the apparent absence of effective law enforcement.
‘As we are in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage Site, we want iSimangaliso to step in so the town’s tourists can be better protected,’ said another concerned resident.
As Sodwana Bay, and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park as a whole, is a major international tourist destination, residents and business owners fear these crimes, if not dealt with, will cause affected tourists to dissuade family and friends from visiting the area. The consequences could be disastrous for the tourism industry.
‘Incidents such as these are unacceptable and need to be dealt with in the strongest manner,’ said iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority CEO, Andrew Zaloumis.
‘Not only do they affect locals and visitors, they also place the area’s tourism industry and jobs at risk’. Zaloumis added that last week’s crimes had not been reported to either Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife or iSimangaliso and urged the public to do so.
‘Crimes must be reported to the SAP so cases are opened. It is also important to timeously inform the local Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife manager and/or iSimangaliso’s 24-hour emergency line 082 7977944,’ said Zaloumis.
He said the SAP was fully supported by conservation authorities to enforce the law and investigate such crimes.
