Table Mountain under attack
CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s military is needed to fight crime on Cape Town’s Table Mountain, the city authorities say.
The city’s tourism head Simon Grindrod said there had been 15 muggings on the mountain, one of South Africa’s most famous landmarks, in the past two weeks.
“Table Mountain is under attack. If the mountain is under attack, we are all under attack,” he told the BBC.
Last month, the tourism minister warned that high crime could deter visitors coming to the 2010 football World Cup.
Table Mountain draws thousands of tourists who come to walk and climb along its flanks, and many more who catch the cable car to the top.
It has 52 rangers patrolling it daily, backed by 200 volunteers, but there is increasing concern that the level of crime will deter tourism.
Grindrod said criminals were already using guerilla tactics by hiding in the forbidding terrain and the military were trained and equipped to deal with it.
“The military use this vast national park for training so they could step up patrols and join in with game rangers and police,” he said.
Ian Jarrett
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