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Daily Maverick
29-07-2025
- Daily Maverick
Suspects arrested after using stolen Nelson Mandela Bay municipal bakkie for business robbery
A stolen municipal bakkie – with its signage and number plates removed – was recovered by Atlas Security in Walmer on Monday afternoon after it was flagged on its system as the getaway vehicle in a business robbery. On Saturday morning in Nelson Mandela Bay, fast-moving Atlas Security vehicles managed to catch suspects who had allegedly robbed a business using a stolen and disguised municipal vehicle. Atlas Security's Wayne Hart said early on Saturday morning that its CCTV network picked up a white Nissan Navara sought in connection with a business robbery. 'The Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU) team first spotted the vehicle heading into Walmer location with five occupants. Given the circumstances, our RIU and area vehicles monitored the movement, and continued visible patrols in Walmer and surrounding areas. 'A bit later, another alert came through. This time, the vehicle was picked up in Mangold Park through Atlas Security's CCTV infrastructure,' Hart said. He said two vehicles were stationed in 8th Avenue, Walmer. One vehicle covered Walmer Boulevard and two were assigned to Targetkloof. 'The Nissan Navara was located and quickly surrounded at the corner of 8th Avenue and Villiers Road in Walmer. At the scene, two suspects were found in the vehicle. Another was located nearby with his family. Our officers escorted the suspects and the vehicle to Walmer Police Station, where a closer inspection confirmed it was a stolen municipal vehicle,' Hart said. 'The suspects had tried to cover up its identity by painting over the official unit numbers and municipal markings with white house paint, and fitting false number plates,' he added. The theft of fleet vehicles belonging to municipalities and the provincial Department of Transport has notably increased since the beginning of the year. Last Thursday, a vehicle belonging to the road construction team of the Eastern Cape Department of Transport was hijacked at gunpoint and its driver held hostage at Askeaton just outside Cofimvaba, where roadworks are in progress. Department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said a group of armed men in a VW Polo forcefully stopped the foreman who was driving the double-cab bakkie. 'They demanded keys to the bakkie, put him in the backseat and drove with him for some distance before releasing him. He managed to contact the office and the police to report the incident. The vehicle tracker was immediately activated and, hours later, the bakkie was found abandoned in a forest at a village in Cofimvaba,' Binqose said. He added that the thieves had already stripped the vehicle of parts. This was the fifth attack on government vehicles since June. In the other cases, yellow fleet vehicles, used in road construction, were hijacked by armed men at several sites. One of the attacks occurred on the R61, where a team of road workers had to run for their lives as gunshots were fired in the crane truck they were travelling in. The team was fixing potholes between Engcobo and Dutywa, and was on their way to Komani when the incident happened. Binqose said the team had to abandon the truck and run into a nearby village, where they were able to call the police for assistance. 'The truck was still there as a bullet damaged one of its engine components. It was towed to the Cofimvaba Police Station,' he added. Previously, armed men also stole a truck and took its wheels, and then stole the department's bakkie as a getaway vehicle. In June, a tipper truck was stolen and later recovered in Elliotdale. DM
Daily Maverick
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Nelson Mandela Bay metro asks council to urgently approve millions for security firm looking after substations
If the company is not paid, the substations are at risk of being left unguarded and, therefore, vulnerable to vandalism, which could cause costly power outages Nelson Mandela Bay's acting city manager, Ted Pillay, has asked for an urgent decision by council to approve the reallocation of more than R20-million from the current year's budget to pay the security firm guarding some of the city's major substations. According to council documents, the urgent payment will avoid the security firm's withdrawal, and leaving the city's substations vulnerable to theft and vandalism. In a metro where cable theft is rife, Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) now owes its security service provider R21-million, according to a report before council. A payment of R7-million was made last week to avoid the substations being abandoned by guards. The matter is expected to be heard on Wednesday, 18 June, after it was deferred because not all councillors had seen the documents. Adopt-a-substation Wayne Hart, from Atlas Security, said that while his organisation is not the security provider owed millions by the municipality, Atlas does guard crucial substations in several parts of the city as part of the Business Chamber's Adopt-a-Substation programme. As part of this programme, businesses fund private security to protect substations against attacks. Highlighting the importance of security at these substations, Hart said the company protects the large substation at Struandale. Part of its plan involves stationing guards and security vehicles there 24/7. 'This initiative was launched two years ago, and to date we haven't had one single incident. Before our involvement that substation was a target and would often knock half of the industrial areas out,' he said. He added that his company also monitors alarms at other substations and responds accordingly. Other security measures employed under the Adopt-a-Substation initiative include perimeter fencing and the installation of hi-tech security cameras monitored around the clock. Letter to the Presidency In a letter written to the Presidency, several government departments and Eskom in late 2024, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Denise van Huyssteen, requested that the government declare the two substations at Chatty in NMB as national key points. She also asked that the government consider sending in the army to protect the infrastructure. In her letter Van Huyssteen highlighted that in 2023 there had been several incidents of cable theft at the municipal substation, and the fence and alarms were tampered with to gain access. It is estimated that damage to the crucial Chatty substations could lead to power outages of several weeks in NMB. In the past 12 months, there have been several reported instances of vandalism at substations in the metro leaving residents without power. Major risk In its 2025 integrated development report, vandalism is highlighted as one of the major risks facing the city. The report also states that the metro's electricity department will have to be subsidised by municipal rates to remain viable. Opposition parties have repeatedly argued in council that the electricity department would bankrupt the city if a successful turnaround plan was not implemented. 'We have not seen a turnaround plan yet,' said Werner Senekal, a Democratic Alliance member in the council . In its application to the National Energy Regulator for tariff increases, the metro said vandalism and cable theft are two of the factors hampering an efficient electricity service in NMB. DM
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
'Storm Watching' seminar to feature Wayne Hart
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)- As severe weather season continues in the Tri-State, an upcoming event will allow attendees to see how trained weather watchers gather information to keep the community safe and informed. 'Storm Watching' will take place at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, McCullough branch on Saturday, May 17. The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature Eyewitness News Chief Meteorologist Wayne Hart and members of Evansville Skywarn, a local organization of trained weather watchers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW).
