Officer commanding Bulawayo province Commissioner Patton
Mbangwa told journalists that most private security companies were inadequately
armed to fight criminals.
Mbangwa said at least 10 security companies in the city had
fallen victim to armed robbers in the past few weeks.
“The recent armed robbery case in Parklands at the Choppies
shop that ended in the theft of seven trunks of money involving Romicon
Security Company left a lot of questions about the seriousness of the security
company in preventing robberies.
“Movie-style robberies cannot be allowed to happen. The security
company was using an unarmoured car, a kombi, and no single gunshot was fired
to disable the robbery,” Mbangwa said.
“Some security guards spend a lot of time sanitising
clients at shop entrances and as a result, they neglect their duties and robbers
take advantage of the situation. If this continues, investors will shun
Bulawayo because of the crime rate,” Mbangwa said.
However, security companies shot back saying they were
struggling to obtain firearm certificates, and accused police of taking long to
attend crime scenes.
“We are disappointed at police who say they don’t have
transport to provide support during an armed robbery, and even if you provide
them with transport they take time to respond.
“We also face difficulties in acquiring licences to own
guns,” said Safeguard Security representative Greater Sibanda.
Security companies admitted that low remuneration for
workers in the industry could also be contributing to an increase in armed
robberies.
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