Yet another burglary in the industrial area left business manager Mr Herbert Muloiwa very upset on Monday.

Over the past two weeks, several businesses were targeted by burglars in the industrial area. This time it was the business of Makhado Printing Works which Mr Muloiwa manages. The business was also the victim of a burglary over the Easter weekend.

The culprits left a path of destruction after gaining access to the property by cutting open the lock. The office area was ransacked. Office equipment was damaged with the thieves cutting off the electric cables to sell as copper. The fax machine, a computer with its printer, the printing paper, working gloves and a compressor were stolen. Even the cleaning cloth was gone.

Mr Muloiwa said it will cost them about R15 000 to replace some of the equipment. One of the machines, which was too heavy to steal, was simply smashed.

One of the employees, Mr Richard Nago, managed to retrieve some of the stolen goods. Following the culprit’s escape route through a broken fence leading into the bushes across Malherbe Street, Mr Nago found the compressor, a cash box, the fax machine and some other things which were dropped. It is believed that the thieves left the compressor and the fax machine, which were just too heavy, behind to retrieve later.

Mr Muloiwa said that the tall grass and bushes within the industrial area are contributing to a serious crime situation and that the municipality should start taking responsibility.

Louis Trichardt police spokesperson Insp Ndwamato Vele said he agrees with the statement. He said the municipality does not maintain or cut the bushes. He said the police will continue urging the municipality to assist them in crime prevention by rendering basic services like cutting long grass and clearing bushes.

The Zoutpansberger spoke to the municipality’s director of technical services, Mr Masindi Mapholi, but was informed that he would unfortunately only be able to comment at a later stage.