In an effort to combat the rising tide of crime in KwaZulu-Natal, Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli initiated a series of discussions and assessments at key locations in the uMkhanyakude District Municipality.

His focus on using technology and community engagement reflects a comprehensive strategy aimed at restoring safety and trust in law enforcement.

During a visit to the Golela Border Post, Ntuli engaged with customs officials to explore practical measures against rampant criminal activities affecting both KZN and eSwatini.

He praised the use of advanced technology, including drones, for improved border surveillance and highlighted the importance of inter-departmental cooperation.

As part of Operation Siyahlola, Ntuli assessed the challenges at Ingwavuma police station and expressed dissatisfaction with its condition, committing to discuss improvements with the Police Minister. 

He also met with local community safety structures at Bhambanana Community Hall and addressed crime issues, including motor vehicle theft, during a crime-fighting imbizo in Jozini Local Municipality.

Addressing some of the issues, Ntuli said there was a complaint about closed dockets, but the perpetrators had not been arrested, even though they are known. He said his office has a duty to follow up on the matter.

“So we’ll be following up on the service delivery by the police in the area, whether it’s up to standard,” Ntuli said. 

He said that during his meeting with amakhosi, he urged them to be at the forefront of crime fighting, mobilise their communities regularly, and collaborate with police to report crime. 

He said they also mobilised safety structures. 

“We were quite weak in this area when it comes to the volunteers, people who are saying we want to be known, that we are working with the police, we want to be known, that we hate crime. We now have hundreds of them, and we are going to train them. They have been inducted, but what we also need to do is to give them proper training so that they add to the team that is fighting crime.”  

He said they have also extended the local government sphere’s responsibility to say “the mayor of the area should be able to sit down with the station commanders and discuss the stats of crime quarterly or regularly, and should be able to identify the hotspots of crime and develop a plan”.

“Working with my office of Community Safety and Liaison, because we have an office here in the district, we believe that that kind of approach, which is multi-sectoral, is going to assist, wherein even the spiritual leaders will be involved, ordinary citizens will be involved, all departments will be involved.” 

He said that they are hopeful that the sustainability of that approach will bring improvement. 

“We also believe that there are service delivery issues in terms of the police station situation, the condition of our police station here, the issue of scarcity of resources, such as the cars that are out for repairs for a very long time, and we will be engaging the national minister,” Ntuli said. 

“We believe, as the province of KwaZulu-Natal, that there are some powers that need to be devolved to the provincial level. The devolution of powers is important, so that the provincial commissioners will be able, in fact, to attend to those issues of fixing the police cars, and also attend, or rather address, the issue of structural defects that may require urgent attention.”

Ntuli said they informed the community that there are safer ways to report crime. They can call 10111 and hide their identity if they fear the police will tell criminals they have been reported. 

“I have encouraged them that when they interact with police, they must look at the name tags. So that they can report the misbehaviour of a policeman or policewoman to the station commander, or rather elevate it to other senior leadership structures that are there in the area,” Ntuli said. 

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za

Source link