Tires and rims worth about R250,000 were stolen from a grader parked on a playground in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni.
According to Ekurhuleni city spokesperson Zweli Dlamini, the discovery at Sinaba Stadium was made during a visit by the mayor. He found the paved delegation sitting on stones stripped of its new tires, rims and nuts.
The unofficial football pitches were meant to be prepared to make them more usable for local communities in the region before moving to other parts of the country.
Speaking to Sowetan, Dlamini said that the gunmen overtook the security guards at the stadium and held them at gunpoint before the robbery took place.
“Unfortunately, the security unit that was deployed could not respond in time and call for help because the criminals overtook them. Unlike other municipal vehicles, the grader did not have any anti-hijack devices,” he said before adding.
“Because the grader is a factory and not a car, we couldn’t install anti-hijacking and other technology inside it. Therefore, the criminals broke down one of the doors and even stole the nut from the grader because it was steel.
Dlamini added that there was no television footage of the incident and said that the municipality had not witnessed such a robbery for the first time.
This is not the first incident. Last year we found a truck being unloaded with fuel and a few years ago we also discovered other thefts that we didn’t expect.”
The mayor of Ekorholeni Sifwele Ngodwana condemned the incident and said the theft had hindered the delivery of the service.
“Not only does the theft of municipal property delay the provision of services, but it also disturbs residents who directly benefit from these services. We condemn the senseless theft at Sinaba Stadium.
A case of theft has been registered with SAPS. Investigations are ongoing and there have been no mad arrests yet.