STALL owners at Bangladesh Market fear for their safety following an armed robbery that targeted vendors early Saturday morning.
With calls for enhanced security measures, the incident has raised concerns about the safety of elderly traders and the market's reputation.
Armed men allegedly stormed the market demanding cash and valuables from vendors as they were setting up their stalls on Saturday morning.
Mahen Govender, a member of the Bangladesh market committee, said two poultry vendors were allegedly held up by four young men.
He said there were claims that one of the suspects was an assistant who did odd jobs at the market.
“This suspect had been hired by some of the stall owners to assist them to off-load their goods. The suspect also helped customers carry their market bags home.
“The four suspects approached the poultry vendor area, which is at the back of the market, at around 6.30am. They were armed with guns. We believe that one of the firearms that was used could have been a toy gun. One poultry vendor was robbed of cash, some of his belongings and a firearm. They then robbed another vendor for cash and fled.
“They could have been monitoring the stall owners. The men were bare faced. One of the men was identified as a ‘barrow or carrier’ assistant, who assisted stall owners and patrons. We hope that police make an arrest soon so that shoppers don't have to feel afraid to come to the market. An arrest will also help curb the fear among the vendors,” he added.
Govender said the committee was also planning on beefing up security and increasing the number of security officers in the market.
“The area is fenced. But after this incident, we are stepping up security to ensure the safety of vendors and patrons. We are also considering closing one of the gates so that entry and exits can be controlled.
“We have a meeting with a private security company and we will request additional security guards during the closing and opening times. Many of the stall owners arrive early at the market to set up for trading. This will safeguard them. We will have to negotiate and approach the traders to contribute to the added security costs.
“It is sad that it has come to this, as market vendors have small, struggling businesses and robberies such as this set them back. It also impacts the market's reputation and affects everyone’s businesses. We have about 500 stalls at the market and most of the owners are elderly and they do not make huge profits,” Govender added.
A stall owner, who did not want to be named, said her parents had owned a stall at the market for the past 40 years. She said they were afraid to trade after the robbery.
“We feel unsafe. We go to the market early on Friday and Saturday mornings. We are now terrified. We carry the money we make from the previous day with us because suppliers arrive to collect payments. We are afraid to use jewellery, which is not gold because we may be attacked for it.
“Most of the vendors are elderly. At the time that the robbery happened, the market was quiet and the vendors were just arriving and setting up. Customers start arriving just before 7am. We have noticed that there were many new faces during the school holidays, including youngsters who sought jobs to carry bags for customers.
“The problem is that these service providers – the trolley guys and carriers – are not regulated or co-ordinated by anyone. These guys also help us offload. We have heard of incidents where some of these guys steal the customers' bags or packets and run off,” she added.
She said the stall owners did not make enough money to make ends meet, and they would not be able to contribute to security costs.
“We know that these types of incidents affect trading as people won't want to shop at the market if it is unsafe. But how do we pay for extra security with the little we make? We are already paying a stall fee, which is R1 200 per year. It's unfair on us, the traders,” she said.
Another stall owner, who also did not want to be named, said he hoped the incident was an eye-opener for the market committee to improve security measures.
“We cannot allow the elderly, who are the most vulnerable, to be soft targets for criminals. We hope this is an eye-opener and the security is beefed up. We hope this doesn't happen again, but if it does, we have to be prepared. Presently, there are three guards on duty but this is not enough. Sometimes they are visible and sometimes they are not.
“The access to the market is not properly controlled. Why should traders fork out more when they are already paying for contributions and are struggling to make profits. Once the access is controlled and the security guards are strategically placed, it should be safer for traders and shoppers,” he said.