Keep iconic street safe

IN A country where tourism contributes billions to our GDP and with a projected growth to R560 billion by 2025, the shooting on Sunday of a manager of one of the restaurants on Vilakazi Street in Soweto has got to be condemned in the strongest terms.

We cannot, in a country where the tourism industry employs about 1.5 million people, have criminals taint the reputation of iconic tourism spots like Vilakazi Street.

This is the only street in the world to have had two Nobel Prize winners as residents, and it is here that hundreds of local and international tourists flock to feast on local cuisine after visiting sites like the Nelson Mandela House Museum and the Hector Pieterson Memorial.

The area is a hive of activity for both formal and informal traders making a living. It is here that tourists walk and cycle freely, without fear of being cornered by criminals out to make a quick buck.

What happened in the early hours of Sunday at Sakhumzi restaurant could deter people not only from visiting the street, but could also have a negative effect on backpackers lodges and guest houses in the township.

In his State of the Nation debate speech last year, Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom said tourism arrivals in South Africa had grown from 3.9 million in 1994 to 8.9 million in 2015, so we hope the police will do everything in their power to ensure that these numbers do not go down.

Hanekom lauded their Operation Fiela for helping to reinstate the rule of law in many communities, saying visitors felt safer. So let there be a joint effort between police, residents and business owners around the area to ensure that those wishing to visit are not filled with fear.

There should be high police visibility, but business owners should also take responsibility to beef up the security. South Africa cannot afford to have common criminals spoiling the township experience for everyone.

Hanekom’s dream is for South Africa to become one of the top 20 tourism destinations in the world, but if we allow criminals free rein, this will remain just a pipe dream.