The City of Cape Town applauded the parking marshals who intervened in several incidents during the past month where thieves broke into motor vehicles parked in the Cape Town CBD in broad daylight.
The parking marshals are employed by Street Parking Solutions (SPS) which is contracted to manage on-street parking in the CBD on behalf of the City of Cape Town.
“It is no easy job being a parking marshal in Cape Town. These men and women have to endure abuse from motorists who refuse to pay for parking on a daily basis. Some take out their frustration on the marshals who are simply doing what they are paid to do: to collect parking fees. Given the difficult work environment, I want to commend them for not hesitating to intervene on several occasions when thieves broke into vehicles parked in the CBD,” said the City’s Mayco member for transport, Brett Herron.
The most recent incident took place at about 11.30am on Tuesday October 18, when marshal Buhle Gorati noticed a thief breaking into a vehicle parked in Darling Street.
“The thief managed to get away with a bicycle, but not for long. Buhle chased after him and got hold of the bicycle, which was safely returned to the owner later the same day. I applaud Buhle for his selfless action and for going beyond the call of duty in ensuring that our streets are safe,” said Mr Herron.
Marshals Kino Bush and Mandla Rotya also intervened in two separate incidents that took place on Tuesday October 11 along Plein Street and Adderley Street, respectively.
Both incidents happened in broad daylight – the first at 12.15pm in Plein Street, and the other at 2.30pm in Adderley Street – when thieves used remote jamming devices to get their hands onto unsuspecting motorists’ property.
“Kino and Mandla informed the Central City Improvement District of the suspicious activities, thereby foiling the suspects’ plans. Once again the marshals got involved, demonstrating their commitment and dedication,” said Mr Herron.
Also, on Thursday September 29, SPS zone manager, Joseph Lukale, went to great lengths to return a wallet to a resident who dropped it in the CBD.
“He found the resident’s AA emergency card, phoned the AA and the AA eventually got hold of the man, informing him that Joseph had his wallet.
All SPS parking marshals wear a name badge and an orange bib, indicating that they are an official parking marshal employed by the company.
