– Violent mafias are holding Richards Bay industry to ransom

And then there are the worker forums demanding to be labour brokers.

In 2020, about 75,000 heavy-duty trucks drove into Richards Bay. Last year the number was 500,000, says Deputy Mayor Christo Botha. In June last year, John Myaka, the sole African Christian Democratic Party councillor in the City of uMhlathuze, the municipality under which Richards Bay falls, was shot dead in front of his congregants.What’s going on here? The frightened response from the Zululand Chamber of Business to inquiries sums up the mood: “The chamber is not in a position to comment … the atmosphere here is unsettling. I hope you will understand,” a spokesperson said.

“This is a scary environment. We are desperate. Organised business has approached the highest office in the land twice, crying out for the President to come here and give guidance.” The industry in Richards Bay has been a magnet for jobseekers and entrepreneurs. One businessperson said it is “still a frontier town where vast fortunes can be made, but it’s also full of cowboys and crooks”.

Assassinations in Richards Bay were related to procurement and supply chain issues, he said, echoing a comment made by RBM’s managing director, Werner Duvenhage, at the recent Mining Indaba. Botha got the bodyguards and the council installed security and face recognition access at the uMhlatuze municipal offices after threats to the deputy mayor and officials who instigated legal action against companies illegally stockpiling coal in Richards Bay.Botha said trucking mafias were part of the criminal underworld sabotaging the railway line so that millions of tonnes of coal are diverted from rail to their heavy-duty trucks.

Botha said crime in Richards Bay was diverse and the local police had limited impact. Nobody of significance has been arrested for sabotage to the railway lines, so uMhlatuze is forcing a partial solution by imposing a levy of upwards of R20 a tonne on exports ferried by truck through Richards Bay. There is a council resolution to this effect.“The mafias have tentacles all over the place and are strangling business,” said a private sector risk expert who advises big companies in Richards Bay.

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