Attacks on trucks are an attack on the economy

schumi

schumi

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At least 17 trucks were torched over the weekend in the recent wave of attacks on freight vehicles in KwaZulu-Natal. Worse so, in the past three weeks, over 60 trucks have been set alight on the country’s roads.

This information was revealed following an inter-ministerial committee meeting in Durban consisting of senior government officials, such as Minister of Police Bheki Cele and Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.

The committee was established specifically to respond to the attacks, which started in March 2018 over the alleged hiring of foreign nationals by trucking companies.

The Road Freight Association (RFA) estimates that over the past year, close to 1 400 trucks across the country have either been burnt, damaged or destroyed and it says that 213 people have lost their lives due to the hostilities.

“This is not only truck drivers, it is assistant drivers, packers, people involved in depots who have also been attacked. Innocent people caught up in this are being harmed,” said Gavin Kelly, chief executive of the RFA.

Kelly said the trucking industry was frustrated with the loss of life and property that has, so far, cost the economy between R1.2 billion and R1.3 billion.

The road transport sector is a key contributor to the country’s economy and accounts for over 80% of freight share compared to other modes of transport such as shipping and rail.
“There’s no way that we can do without trucks and this is a really harsh situation that is threatening our economy,” said Mike Schüssler, chief economist at Economists.co.za.
Schüssler explained that stable conditions within the freight industry were just as crucial as a consistent supply of electricity where the only difference in the truck sector is that the knock-on effects of disruption are not as immediate.
“Transport will not increase the debt of government but ultimately it will impact on inflation, growth, consumer and business confidence and I think people in that industry feel under threat,” said Schüssler.
The N3 highway linking Johannesburg and Durban has been one of the main areas where these attacks have happened and has become a site of protest for unhappy truck drivers. This is also one of the most critical economic roads in the country.
“The main artery of Gauteng is the N3 it is the heart of South Africa’s economy and if that main artery is blocked, it will be like a heart attack,” said Schüssler.
The biggest port in sub-Saharan Africa is Durban, according to statistics from Transnet National Ports Authority Cargo. The port processed 43.2 million metric tons of cargo in 2018.
“It is everything from cars, electronics, food, medicine and toiletries, everything that you can see in a shop. This includes raw materials, it goes in and out,” said Schüssler, adding that many of the services in the mining and manufacturing sectors use trucks too.
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More at: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/attacks-on-trucks-are-an-attack-on-the-economy/
 
P

profa

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Hemi300c said:
Has the law being changed in regards to a petrol bomb. Just asking and interested (will try search as well)
A one stage a person with a petrol bomb was regarded as a terrorist.
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If this is true, I honestly didnt know the law was this asine to be honest. I thought a person's intent and deeds with a weapon determined what you would be classified as. I will also try to search.
 
Nanfeishen

Nanfeishen

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Hemi300c said:
Has the law being changed in regards to a petrol bomb. Just asking and interested (will try search as well)
A one stage a person with a petrol bomb was regarded as a terrorist.
Click to expand...

A petrol Bomb is still considered an explosive device according to section 1 of the explosives act 2003 (act no. 15 of 2003)
https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a15-03.pdf

It is still an offence and falls under the PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AGAINST TERRORIST AND
RELATED ACTIVITIES ACT 33 OF 2004
https://www.saps.gov.za/resource_centre/acts/downloads/juta/terrorism_act.pdf

(5) Offences relating to explosive or other lethal devices
Any person who intentionally delivers, places, discharges or detonates an explosive or other lethal device in, into or against a place of public use, a state or government facility, a public transport facility, a public transportation system, or an infrastructure facility, with the purpose, amongst others, of causing
(a) death or serious bodily injury; or
(b) extensive damage to, or destruction of such a place, facility or system, where such destruction results in or is likely to result in major economic loss, is guilty of an offence relating to explosive or other lethal devices.
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Its not that the laws dont exist to call it Terrorism, it is the political will not to that stands in the way of the correct implementaiton of those laws.
We need to move away from 1 Police service and implement a better system.
We need a regional service (provincial), a national service and a state service, with the state service dealing with violent and organised crime. The national working in co-operation with regional to chase crime between the provinces, and the regional dealing only within the province for civil issues etc.
 
Hemi300c

Hemi300c

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Nanfeishen said:
A petrol Bomb is still considered an explosive device according to section 1 of the explosives act 2003 (act no. 15 of 2003)
https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a15-03.pdf

It is still an offence and falls under the PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AGAINST TERRORIST AND
RELATED ACTIVITIES ACT 33 OF 2004
https://www.saps.gov.za/resource_centre/acts/downloads/juta/terrorism_act.pdf



Its not that the laws dont exist to call it Terrorism, it is the political will not to that stands in the way of the correct implementaiton of those laws.
We need to move away from 1 Police service and implement a better system.
We need a regional service (provincial), a national service and a state service, with the state service dealing with violent and organised crime. The national working in co-operation with regional to chase crime between the provinces, and the regional dealing only within the province for civil issues etc.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the answers
We already have 3 police services
SAPS
Metro
Traffic

More will mean more job creation and expenditure without resolving the issues of not working.

We need to start punishing those that are caught correctly and our existing departments, including the judiciary, needs to start working as the are sworn to do.

The ancand African mentality of "deservedness" needs to end.
 
Mila

Mila

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Why are these people not on chain gangs?
We have lots of infrastructure that needs to be built and way to many criminals running around up to no good.
MAke them pay their way back into society. Build some sewage systems
If you catch them twice burning a truck, 20 years in jail. ?You were warned. You will build this country for 20 years if you are so hell bent on burning it down.
 
Nanfeishen

Nanfeishen

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Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
8,156
Hemi300c said:
Thank you for the answers
We already have 3 police services
SAPS
Metro
Traffic

More will mean more job creation and expenditure without resolving the issues of not working.

We need to start punishing those that are caught correctly and our existing departments, including the judiciary, needs to start working as the are sworn to do.

The ancand African mentality of "deservedness" needs to end.
Click to expand...

Metro and Traffic are municipal , we dont have a huge military any longer, so that funding can go into more police.
 
TysonRoux

TysonRoux

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Wonder if we'll see any of these barbaric savage rioters face prosecution and jail, .......... no chance, they're all tied up prosecuting that racist full that used an ugly word in a foreign country.


Truck driver petrol bombed on N1 succumbs to injuries

Bernard Groenewald had pulled over along the N1 near Touws River in the Western Cape in the early hours of 2 June when a petrol bomb was thrown into his vehicle.

A truck driver who sustained injuries in an arson attack earlier this month has died.


Bernard Groenewald had pulled over along the N1 near Touws River in the Western Cape in the early hours of 2 June when a petrol bomb was thrown into his vehicle.

He died in hospital on Friday night.

Doreen van Rooyen, a representative from a lobby group for South African truckers, explained that as Groenewald tried to jump out of his truck to escape, he broke his ankle and couldn't flee the scene. While he was on the ground, he was attacked with another petrol bomb.

Van Rooyen said over 1,000 trucks have been targeted over the past year.

"It's just getting worse and worse. Since the beginning of the year, it has been 1,300 that have been burnt."

No arrests have been made yet. An inter-ministerial team has been set up to probe the motive behind the spike in attacks across the country.
 
Moto Guzzi

Moto Guzzi

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schumi said:
More at: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/attacks-on-trucks-are-an-attack-on-the-economy/
Click to expand...

Looting..., Cable theft..., Cash in transit heists.....Fires....,Tarnishing in sync with complaints about housing or services, Ambulance EMY services attacks, Vehicle attacks on major roads, Train fires....., Schools...,Now Trucks...., is this the same small army bussed around the country-? In the mean time the Somali Pirates are going full blast at ships.... & get blasted back...
 
D

deesef

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The 'uking anc are treating terrorists and rioters with the same non-committal blank stare that resulted in them taking 9 years to oust zuma. They just don't care for anything but their back pockets and fat gutses.
 
M

Milano

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Moto Guzzi said:
Looting..., Cable theft..., Cash in transit heists.....Fires....,Tarnishing in sync with complaints about housing or services, Ambulance EMY services attacks, Vehicle attacks on major roads, Train fires....., Schools...,Now Trucks...., is this the same small army bussed around the country-? In the mean time the Somali Pirates are going full blast at ships.... & get blasted back...
Click to expand...

Here they are rewarded. Gov stood by while truckers were murdered, trucks looted of millions, millions in property destroyed, the economy threatened. Arrests for murder? None. Result? Government met ALL the criminals' demands. Lesson? If you want something then commit murder, burn and destroy - and you will get exactly what you want. In fact, government will even disregard basic rights to ensure that violent thugs get everything they want. From now on even foreigners with a legal permit will not be allowed to drive trucks. Respectable honorable companies and people suffered, punished by criminals. Those criminals were rewarded by government. Gov is saying: Law abiding citizens have no place in society, deserve to be spat on, murdered and punished.
 
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