Pretoria - Businesses in the northern areas of the Pretoria CBD and Marabastad say an explosion of the highly intoxicating drug nyaope on the streets and resultant crime and grime are killing off business.
They warn that if the problem is not tackled urgently, businesses will start moving out of the inner city.
Not wanting to be named for fear of victimisation, they say the situation has spiralled out of control.
According to them, deliveries are not being made in parts of Marabastad where the “smokers” have taken over, and even garbage collectors in Brown Street have asked that rubbish be put out on adjoining streets.
Brown Street, once a proud gathering point in the CBD where many a union march started, is now a shadow of its former self, with nyaope smokers and dealers openly doing business on the street.
“The city says it wants to be the cleanest in Africa, but look at what is happening. There are no gardens in Marabastad, but all of us have hosepipes as we have to hose down the pavements every day,” said one of the Marabastad businessmen.
What was once a vibrant oriental shopping hub for bargain-hunting is fast becoming a no-go area.
“Customers don’t want to set foot here. As soon as they come here they are smash-and-grabbed, mugged… and even assaulted for something as small as earrings,” a businessman said.
According to him, the situation has become so bad that even robbers are being robbed. “A few weeks ago about four armed men robbed one of the Pakistani shops. As they were making their way back to their car, the nyaope smokers saw them with the bag of money. About 10 of them attacked and took the bag from the robbers,” he recalled.
Business owners were tired of talkshops and wanted action from the city and police, he said.
Tshwane spokesman Blessing Manale said the city had set up a business and community safety division that would work closely with the metro police and report to the city manager.
The unit’s aim is to establish a business safety strategy.
Manale stressed that mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa was committed to addressing the immediate challenge of drugs, especially nyaope. But businesses want to see action on the streets and have also called on Drug Watch for help.
Another shopowner in Marabastad showed the Pretoria News CCTV footage of a client falling victim to three “smokers” on his way to the taxi rank. In a matter of seconds, the man was attacked and his cellphone taken. He was left bleeding after the thugs stabbed him with a knife.
Businesses say women are worst off. “Walking to the taxi or bus rank with groceries has become a nightmare for these women who are pick-pocketed or relieved of their shopping,” another businessman said.
Making matters worse is the sickening sight of men and women of all ages inhaling fumes from a cigarette, pipe or broken glass bottle top. The horrendous fumes mix with the smell of urine, faeces and other indescribable smells.
The Hindu Temple in Marabastad, once a tourist stop, is also attracting fewer visitors as tourists fall prey to the “smokers”.
In Brown Street almost all the businesses have been rented out to foreign nationals or closed.
A businessman in that part of the CBD says the situation has become unbearable: “People feel the city is dying. No one’s taking action.”
Businessmen say they have given information to local police, but nothing lasting gets done.
They believe the solution to the lawlessness lies at provincial level.
“How can we get rid of these criminal elements, if they have the protection of police?” a businessman near Brown Street said.
“When a raid is organised, the thugs are missing for the day because they have been tipped off.”
Sergeant Ann Poortman, spokeswoman for the Pretoria Central police station, said she could not comment about the allegations of corruption, but the station was conducting weekly operations in Brown Street and police were tackling the situation head-on.
Piet du Toit, chairman of the City Improvement District for the inner city, agrees that the situation in Marabastad and Brown Street Is of serious concern.
Although both these areas fall outside the boundaries of the inner city, the CID assisted with clean-up operations in Brown Street.
“The short-term solution would be to get the cause of the problems out of the area with daily operations by metro police, the SAPS, and other role-players,” Du Toit said.
“Police have to eradicate the problem. They should use a monitoring system to get rid of the dealers, because once they are gone, their buyers will follow.
“A long-term solution would be for property owners to develop the area.”
Salim Yusuf, a member of the local business chamber, said that a mayoral elite project should be adopted for Marabastad.
“This should entail a strong residential and business component. This would see the redefinition and redevelopment of the entire area.”
Manale said the Gauteng government - through its Department of Social Development - had been engaging with stakeholders in addressing nyaope.
“Some of the challenges with cracking the nyaope circulation has been the medical classification and criminalisation of the drug,” he said.
Manale said Operation I Can was an official zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with Tshwane by-laws. It was part of the Tshwane 2055 vision of creating and sustaining a healthy and liveable city.
Over the past year, cleaning-up operations had been carried out at the Belle Ombre and Jerusalem taxi ranks, illegal shacks demolished and perishable goods confiscated in Kgosi Mampuru Street in Belle Ombre, Manale said.
* Nyaope, also known as whoonga, is a dangerous and highly addictive street drug. Nyaope is a fine white powder that is usually combined with dagga and smoked.
It is not always clear what all the ingredients of nyaope are - they may vary from place to place. Nyaope is made of a lethal combination of substances, which can include heroin, detergent powder, rat poison, and crushed antiretroviral drugs.
Pretoria News