COMMENT: Beef up security to curb armed robberies

It seems armed robberies are on the rise in Bulawayo.

On Wednesday, a gang of six armed robbers raided a bureau de change in the city centre and made off with an undisclosed amount of money in foreign currency.

The robbery took place shortly after a cash-in-transit vehicle had left after delivering cash at around 8AM at Access Finance Bureau De Change situated at Parkade Centre at the corner of Fife Street and 9th Avenue.

A Safeguard team that reacted to the robbery was also disarmed and the security firm’s Honda Fit vehicle was highjacked.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the robbery.

“Zimbabwe Republic Police is attending to an armed robbery at a Bureau de Change at corner 9th Avenue and Fife Street Bulawayo. Six armed robbers attacked a security guard and took away yet to be verified amount of money.

“A Safeguard reaction team was also attacked with a gun and a company vehicle taken. The vehicle was later dumped in Malindela suburb, Bulawayo,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

The latest incident follows last week’s robberies at two service stations in the city.

In the first incident, four men armed with a pistol pounced on Trek Garage in Gwabalanda and got away with more than US$15 000 and R800 after attacking the fuel attendant and security guard. In the second case, three men armed with pistols raided Amakhosi Service Station along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road at around 11PM.

In November last year, six armed robbers also attacked two security guards delivering Zupco’s weekend cash collections to CBZ 8th Avenue branch in Bulawayo and got away with over $2,1 million, US$3 362 and R7 390.

If the city centre is no longer safe, one wonders the fate of businesses in the outskirts.

It has become clear that police have to beef up security. They have done this before during the multi-currency era.

Due to an increase in armed robbery cases, police had to post armed teams outside supermarkets and other businesses handling cash in the city.

The re-introduction of the multi-currency regime has obviously inspired the current spate of armed robberies in the city.

The police, therefore, have to counter this trend by making it impossible to rob a bank or bureau de change in the city centre and getting away before alarm is raised.

The city centre should be the safest place to handle cash in Bulawayo.

Because these armed robbers are heavily armed, and possibly well-trained, private security reaction teams will continue to be overpowered.
Businesses dealing with large sums of money must also be vigilant. They must invest in better security systems to ensure that no one enters their premises while armed.

While most banks have secure entrances, some bureaux de change have insecure entrances, making them sitting ducks for even the most incompetent of armed robbers.

Monetary authorities must also intervene. They must not only regulate the cashflows but standard security for banks, bureaux de change, micro-finance institutions and cash-in-transit service providers.

The collective effort of business, regulators and the police will go a long way in ending armed robberies.