Johannesburg - Parents who allow stolen property into their houses are a curse to the community, Gauteng premier David Makhura said in Soweto on Friday.
“Shame unto you! How are going to raise your child while you show them how to steal?” he asked residents at a meeting in Doornkop, following five days of looting of foreign-owned stores.
“Parents, when your child brings stolen goods into your house what are you saying?”
He said if parents allowed their children to steal from foreigners, next time the children would steal from them.
He was part of a delegation of religious and government leaders in Doornkop to appeal for peace. At least three people have been killed and 162 people arrested since the unrest started on Monday.
It was sparked when Siphiwe Mahori, 14, was shot dead when he and others allegedly tried to rob a Somali-owned store in Snake Park. The shop owner, Senosi Yusuf, is expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate's Court on a charge of murder on Monday.
Makhura said all those who wanted to do business in townships were welcome, provided they obeyed the law and did not sell drugs.
“They must not sell nyaope. We want proper business.”
Some locals have claimed the foreign shop owners sold drugs to children.
Makhura said Gauteng had a programme to grow township businesses.
“We have no problem with anyone doing business legally,” he said.
He appealed to youth to stop looting spaza shops.
“We do not want you to steal. You are disappointing us.”
Sapa