File
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality says two new Disaster Management recruits, who are barely a month in their new jobs, were robbed at gunpoint while delivering relief packages to victims of a shack fire in Qaqawuli Township in Kwazakhele.
Senior Disaster Management official, Thomas Cameron, said the incident happened on Thursday morning while a man and a woman were in a vehicle and trying to make telephonic contact with the recipients.
He said two men, who were armed, knocked on the windows of the bakkie and demanded their cell phones and any other valuables.
Cameron said they also took the vehicle’s keys and tossed them onto the roof of a nearby house. He said they retrieved the keys to their official vehicle and reported the matter to the police.
“Unfortunately, these regular robberies not only create unbearable working conditions for municipal employees from most of our departments, it prevents service delivery from taking place,” he said.
Cameron said as a result of the robbery, the intended beneficiaries could not be assisted as they were not in the area to receive the goods.
He said the two traumatised employees will be advised to seek assistance at the municipal wellness centre in an attempt to help them deal with the traumatic experience.
