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TEL: 057 352 5430/9 OR 084 503 7648, PRETORUISSTRAAT DAGBREEK WELKOM
DONDERDAG 16 JANUARIE 2014
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Stripped to the bone Businessman’s property carried away piece by piece Marti Will “WE are heading towards becoming another Zimbabwe, but with a slight difference. In South Africa, instead of just being forced, or told, to vacate our land or premises, we are now terrorised with break-ins and looting until we have no more courage to carry on doing business or to even try and salvage anything of our lives. “Up until November 2013 I was the proud owner of a business in the industrial area of Virginia,” says Evert Demmer, a prominent Welkom businessman, who also owns what is left of CJN Scrap Metals in Virginia. Demmer’s business has since 13 November been systematically broken into and his property carried away in front of his eyes. In October and November the factory next to CJN Scrap Metal in Westwood Road, Virginia, closed down and has since been stripped to the “bone” by looters. “Within six weeks there was nothing left of the building, including the two trucks inside. I estimate between 60 to a 100 people have been stripping this building on a daily basis,” says Demmer. In November the substation which supplies his business was blown up and the transformer damaged. “We use electronic scales and machinery. We have lost a lot of income because there is no electricity,” says Demmer. His alarm system had to be run off two car batteries. “I had to arrange with a security company to supply and change the batteries every two days. This was expensive and in December the two batteries were stolen.” When Demmer inquired at the municipality about the electrical supply, he was told by a female official: “I don’t know what or when anything will be done to rectify the matter. You had better buy yourself a generator.” “I am a rate payer, yet Matjhabeng cannot supply me with electricity,” says Demmer. When he spoke to a senior municipal official at the end of November he was told that they were rebuilding the transformer and that he would have electricity by the end of the week. When he phoned again on 28 November and spoke to the same man, he was told that the problem would be fixed the next week as people were on leave at that time. On 13 December, Demmer closed shop for the holidays at 13:40. By 14:00 criminals had broken into his premises and stolen the
THE substation was blown up in November.
More photos at www.vistanews.co.za EVERT DEMMER in his store room at CJN Scrap Metal in Westwood Road, Virginia. By Sunday, 5 January, the roof had been removed. Photos: Marti Will
THE criminals made three holes like this in the brick walls.
computer, the printer and various other items. The criminals had gained entrance through a hole they had made in the brick wall. Holes were chopped into three other walls in the other building, and the main entrance was forced open. On 30 December the alarm went off again. When Demmer arrived at the business he found that the police were there. The main garage door was wide open and all the tools, plasma cutter and a lot of steel and metal had been removed. The alarm was again damaged. Half of the roof of the store room (9 m IBR sheeting) had been removed. By Sunday, 5 January, the entire roof had been removed. Demmer says he does not want to close
) On Wednesday morning, Marius Kemp, president of the Free State Goldfields Chamber of Business, Sebenzile Ngangelizwe, the mayor, and Butana Komphela, the MEC for Police, held an urgent meeting on the matter. After serious discussions they visited Virginia. All the looters in the adjacent property were arrested and Komphela has instructed the police to take further action. Kemp says the police, business and the security companies will now liaise to form a strategy. This entire problem will receive urgent attention. ) Read the letter by Dirk Smit, DA councillor, concerning this urgent matter on www.vistanews.co.za and see more photos.
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the business, but it has become a high risk. “I do not know whether I should risk my workers’ lives and my own to carry on doing business here,” he says. One of the employees confirmed with Vista that his life had been threatened. “They told me if I continued to come to work they would kill me. They told me they would kill Mr Demmer. Then they would be able to take everything here without him trying to stop them.” Demmer says the security company has advised him that his business is becoming a very high risk. “They say if the situation becomes worse, they will have to withdraw their services. The police cannot guard this place or protect my staff 24 hours a day,” says Demmer.
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