Businesses on Florida road have called on the eThekwini Municipality to work to rehabilitate the image of the popular street saying it had been dented by the murder of Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, better known as popular singer “AKA”.
AKA, 35, was killed with his close friend, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, as they were walking towards their car from a restaurant in Florida road in February last year, in a suspected contract killing. Several men have been arrested in connection with the murder.
Media reports had said the restaurant where he had been booked went under after the incident and owners cited negativity associated with the assassination for the business failing.
The business community in that area say they feel that the City has abandoned them to pick up the pieces alone. They say it should make basic security improvements in lighting and beef up security in Florida Road, which is one of the nightlife hot spots in Durban.
Zohra Teke spoke to the city officials on Monday as they engaged the business community on the City’s draft budget.
“I represent a consortium of businesses on Florida Road,” she said. “I have been tasked to raise a few concerns from Florida Road businesses particularly in light of the AKA murder last year.
“Restaurants and businesses on the road have raised a number of concerns in terms of lack of engagement from the City in particular with the request for better lighting, better security and loss of a lot of businesses.
“We are requesting engagement with the City which we are quite hopeful about. The businesses in Florida Road feel they have been isolated and left alone to pick up the pieces with little or no assistance from the city in this important node.”
Teke said the city budget had granted millions of rands to the Durban film studios which would allegedly create 11 000 jobs, “which is fantastic, but Florida Road alone creates 3 000 jobs and we have not received a single grant. So that sort of conversation needs to be taken forward,” she said.
The Mercury