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Not Trumps wall but at least better than nothing. This is only going to be 10 kilometres long for now.
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I wrote a post a few days ago about our leaky borders and then stumbled on some rather better news.Finally something is being done about the border between Mozambique and South Africa. The area in particular is Northern Natal and a hot spot for hijacked cars making there way out of the country.
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The wall will be 1.5 m high and will eventually run for 54 kilometres in total.
Some of the neighboring villages in Northern Natal near the Mozambican border were protesting about crimes as they believe the police are in cahoots with the hijacking syndicates. Could possibly be true or the people are involved so wouldn't know who to believe on this one.
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The government has never been too concerned about this in the past as it is creating more money for them. If you think that the insurance company covers the cost of the car then new taxes have to be paid on a replacement vehicle. The ones that suffer are the public as our insurance premiums go through the roof.
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Private investigators paid by client to get this car back from Mozambique.
Tracking companies are big business over here and insurance will only cover you if you have a tracking device fitted in your car by their approved tracking company. When they fit the tracker we are not allowed to know where it is installed yet the criminals seem to know. I suppose there are only a couple of spots where it could go and these companies probably don't move them that much.
I know from the UK the insurance premium worked on your age and sex and how long you have had a licence and then the value of the car. Over here it is similar but certain cars are a higher risk so the premium goes up accordingly. I find it weird that you don't go for a car you would really want, but more one the crooks wont want. That has always been my thinking anyway as why put your family at extra risk for the sake of a vehicle. When I eventually move away from here I will probably spoil myself and get the car that I want not having to think of hidden dangers.
The criminals that drive across the borders are normally after top end 4 x 4's as they are in demand throughout Africa. At one point it got so bad Toyota had to change the specifications on the engines as they were being used in most of the Taxi's here and in the neighboring countries. The Fortuner model was at one stage on top of the hijackers lists but have seen it slip away since the engine change.
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There are many tracking and ant hijacking units based in every major city in South Africa and they will have teams stationed at certain outlying towns closer to the border crossings. Most tracking devices are removed from the vehicle when they feel they have got a safe distance away. Not everyone gets to warn the insurance companies as most of these crimes involve theft of cell phones or being shot. It is sad really as the people doing the crime get next to nothing for the vehicle and are just the foot soldiers of a bigger organisation.
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The smaller cars which are stripped for parts or are made "clean" may only be worth $250 for the people doing the stealing. These are for cars like the VW Golf and VW Polo going up in value for a BMW or Mercedes. Most South Africans are vigilant these days and take extra precaution driving in and out of their driveways at home. I live in a gated community yet still take precautions leaving myself with room to maneuver if needed.
Out of the 16 000 hijackings last year 14 500 had a firearm involved. This is not a pleasant thing by any means as it can go both ways and you never know if you will become another statistic or not. I have never had the misfortune of being hijacked, but had an attempt about 10 years ago where they tried to sneak up on the back of the car and I reversed into them. This was at a traffic light in a not so decent part of town in Durban late at night. My brother was out visiting from England and had no idea what was going on as it was over so quickly. Moral of the story is never stop at a traffic light in South Africa after dark if you don't have to.