Buck stops with Mbalula

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula must not shift blame to the banking sector and security companies for the rise in cash-in-transit heists (Banks urged to thwart heists, October 25). The only way to tackle heists, which are organised crime driven by criminal syndicates, is through effective monitoring and surveillance by crime intelligence to identify, disrupt and neutralise them.

The orange dye that Mbalula calls for banks to go back to using will not stop the heists from happening in the first place; only effective crime intelligence work and intelligence-led policing can do that. The latter is within his ability to address by fixing our crime intelligence, which is in crisis.

The fundamental problem we face as a country in effectively tackling and reducing criminality is a lack of political will within the ANC national government to do the things that are required to turn the police service around and make it an effective crime-fighting organisation.

We can no longer rely on the ANC to fix the problem. The hope for a reduction in crime and in safe streets and homes lies in a post-ANC SA. The only way we stand a chance of having an effective police service is for the ANC to be voted out of power and for a DA-led government with the political will to fix the fundamentals in the police to be elected in 2019.

Zakhele Mbhele, MP DA shadow police minister