Despite promises by various politicians over the years that the vacant ground, better known as the hill area, between Laudium Extension 3 and Atteridgeville, would be closed off in order to curb the high crime in the Laudium area, residents are still waiting for them to keep to their promise.
From Mayors to Ministers to Council Officials, Laudium residents have repeatedly been told at public meetings held during election campaigns, that the concerns of residents in Laudium Ext 3 concerning crime were justified and that the proposal by residents to close the area leading to the hills and also the fencing of private properties in the area, which are either vacant or have incomplete buildings, would be implemented by council. Unfortunately, to date, this matter has not been addressed and residents can only hope and pray that the re-elected mayor of Tshwane, Randall Williams will give the matter his urgent attention. The justified concerns of residents about crime in the area, have once again been highlighted, after the recent burglary of a home on Lucknow Ave that was ‘cleaned’ out by thieves last Tuesday evening, whilst the owner was away for a short holiday break. Lucknow Street resident, Dhiru Chhana told the Laudium Sun, “Last Monday afternoon, my wife and I left for a short vacation, as we thought we needed some time away. We went to a Rustenburg resort, which is about a one and half-hour drive from Laudium. At around 7pm on Tuesday night, I received a message that the alarm went off at our home. I immediately called the police and the alarm company to check our house and check if it was not a false alarm. However, as they could not get into our house, they could not establish if there was a break-in, so we decided to leave the resort and come and check for ourselves, as we were not very far away. When we arrived back home, at around 9:30 that evening, we were shocked to discover that our home had been ransacked and that there were many items missing. I think that the time the alarm went off, was the time the thieves entered our home. They came into our yard, from the back of the house, as our back wall leads to the hill. I think these thieves watch all our houses from the back as they hang around on the hill and keep on watching every one of us. This week, they were lucky that I was not at home and that my neighbor’s house is vacant, so it was easy for them to break in and steal as much as they could. The thieves damaged the back wall fence in order to get in and then went into our house by breaking into the back bedroom. They took so many items, we are still checking what exactly is missing, but what we do know is that they stole our 58inch TV, a laptop, a CCTV kit that I was preparing to install, and they took anything else they could manage to take at the time. I think they must have been disturbed by the alarm going off the entire time, as I noticed that they tried to pull it from the wall. When the police detective came the next day, I was informed that they could not find any finger prints, as maybe the thieves had worn gloves or something. I’m so very disappointed with this ridiculously high crime in Laudium and more so in our area. The police have to patrol the hills and the council must close off the area completely.”
