The Vaal is in many ways still Gauteng’s economic engine room and when it comes to tourism, there are many individuals and groups in the Vaal Triangle engaged in work to build up and market this area, turning it into a desirable tourist destination.

This means it is still possible to dream realistically of securing a bright future for your children in the Vaal. Unfortunately, a gloomy pall of pessimism has been cast over this dream by the two grisly murders that took place this past weekend in Vanderbijlpark’s residential areas.

The police should be praised for swiftly nabbing the perpetrators of one of the atrocities, but the monsters who attacked two unwitting elderly persons, killing one of them, are still at large.

We can only sleep in safety and entertain dreams for the future of our children in the Vaal Triangle if we can be assured that such monsters will be removed from our streets. Be vigilant, secure yourself, get to know your neighbours and join neighbourhood watches and AfriForum. Each and every one of us has the right to protect ourselves from such criminals.

Another issue in the news this week is the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s warning about job-scammers who rip off poor, unsuspecting and unemployed Vaal Triangle residents.

That unscrupulous parasites would stoop low enough to target poor and desperate victims is unconscionable. Scamming poor and desperate people into believing they have jobs, so as to defraud them of their meagre savings, is an especially heinous crime. What enables this kind of scam is the readiness of victims to ‘take someone’s word for it’ and embrace a verbal agreement that cannot be proven in court. There should always be a written agreement, paperwork, a record of some kind.

And that’s just to obtain retribution through the courts. The money itself is usually gone.

One of the most horrifying aspects of this is that it has been going on for a long time. The list of perpetrators and victims is endless. It also shows total contempt for the poor and the desperate. It also shows complete contempt for their families, including children.

This practice says – in effect – that the lives of victims mean nothing. As with rape and murder, this crime should be worthy of the same very heavy penalty. These criminals are not only stealing the poor’s money. They are stealing their hopes, dreams and aspirations toward a better life.