Counting the cost of theft

Windhoek's Northern Industrial Area may be the best place to source a range of goods during business hours, but at night the area becomes a crime hotspot, according to business owners.They complain of frequent break-ins, as well as shoplifting.Linda Kruger, who runs a shop selling cleaning materials, says she has noticed a spike in crime in the area, particularly over the Easter weekend. “These past weeks have been absolute chaos. The Northern Industrial Area has been a hotbed of crime recently. The theft that occurs at my business as far as I can tell has been brazen and I refuse to implicate any of my staff members,” she said. Kruger, whose business is located across from the police garage, says not even the police presence deters thieves.“Right through the night it is busy, they are not even afraid of the police presence in the area. I don't like it anymore, I am fed up,” she says. Kruger says the constant vigilance distracts her attention from other aspects of her business. “I have to constantly check the cameras. It takes my time away from focusing on other critical matters. I look at my cameras the whole time. It costs us time and money that could have been deployed elsewhere,” she says. Over at the Fresh Produce Market, manager Jandré Cornelissen says shoplifting and other thefts have a large impact on their bottom line. After a recent burglary, Cornelissen had to fork out N$30 000 to replace security equipment. “We have incidents where staff members eat loose items in the shop. Those items cost money and we have to package our produce just to avoid this. “The wrapping costs money and it adds to the price that customers have to pay. Sometimes staff members also eat items in the name of so-called quality checks. This affects us,” he says. “We had to replace our security system recently. We suffered a break-in and this is expected to cost us a lot, certainly close to N$30 000 just to replace the security system and this has a huge impact. If we claim from the insurance it just affects our premiums,” he said. Carmen Bester, the financial manager at Swachrome, says that business also suffers financially because of theft. Ben van Niekerk, who runs a bakery in the area, feels that owners must introduce measures to guard against theft.“It is the responsibility of all business owners to create a healthy, secure and controlled environment within their businesses to ensure that these issues are managed. “Theft takes place anywhere in world. Owners who underpay their staff and lack in control systems will have more of these issues than others,” Van Niekerk says. OGONE TLHAGE

Counting the cost of theft

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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Counting the cost of theft

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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