East London addresses spate of airport thefts

Leonard Neill THE ARREST of two men accused of stealing a large section of fencing around East London's airport has sparked a police investigation into the spate of thefts at the airport in recent months. Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) airport manager Luzuko Dibi says that the theft of what he terms 'crucial equipment' and a rapidly growing informal settlement less than a metre from the airport boundary have placed both airport customers and the community in danger. Dibi has not revealed what equipment has been stolen, but says that a tip-off regarding a getaway car and the spot where the gates and fence were hack-sawed led to the men being arrested by the police. With more construction now taking place in the informal settlement which is spreading along the boundaries of the airport, Dibi's office has called on Buffalo City councillors to take urgent action to relieve the situation which is becoming increasingly grave, he says. According to the ward councillor, Msondezi Mdunyelwa, many of the residents in the area were given title deeds to houses in another area which is under development. When these houses were occupied by other people they took up residence near the airport. An additional problem, he said, was that some of the beneficiaries who had been given houses had sold these and then moved into the informal settlement. A meeting between airport management and some councillors planned for early last week to tackle the problem had to be cancelled, but Mdunyelwa said that grounds next to the Santa hospital, away from the airport, had been identified as an alternative site for people whose dwellings were deemed to be 'too close to the airport'. "The people involved have agreed to move. Now we are waiting for the municipality to give it their blessing and take the issue forward," he said.