Beaufort West mayor, Gayton Mckenzie, deals with truck sail-cutting thieves. Photo: Gayton Mckenzie Facabook
Gayton McKenzie, the mayor of Beaufort West in the Central Karoo, Western Cape has vowed to end the cutting of truck sails in his town.
For years on end, truckers have been victims of these robbers who cut the sails and loot whatever the truck is transporting. Many truckers using the N1 between Cape Town and Johannesburg had resorted to not stopping in the town for fear of the targeted attacks.
“We shall keep our truckers safe in Beaufort West,” uttered McKenzie as he vowed to put an end to the sail-cutting of goods trucks in the town.
“One of the main things that give a bad name to this wonderful town is the stealing or cutting the sails of the trucks, this has been ongoing for many years.”
“We have met with SAPS and we have committed ourselves to end this once and for all,” said McKenzie.
The commitment follows the arrest of a gang member for this type of crime.
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“Sergeant Oliphant single-handedly arrested one of these gang members, he will soon take out the rest of his gang members. We don’t okay this here anymore. Let this be a warning to all of you that gives this town a bad name by declaring war against truckers, this festive we shall protect our trucks,” he added.
Mckenzie’s commitment comes against the backdrop of plans to build a massive R4,5 billion logistics hub in the town which will increase the movement of trucks in the town.
McKenzie announced the logistics hub, a project which seeks to address the issue of unemployment and create jobs in the district.
It is envisioned that the facility will change the face of logistics and distribution throughout the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and North West since Beaufort West is a connecting node for thousands of trucks each day travelling on the N1.
The Patriotic Alliance leader shared a plan for the first phase of the project, which involves the purchase of a piece of land and the construction of numerous facilities, including warehouses.
“Beaufort West is in the middle of South Africa, it only makes sense to turn it into a major player in logistics,” said McKenzie.
“We planned very hard and succeeded. A major company won the rights to construct the R4.5bn logistics hub.”
