Province’s CPFs lauded for helping cops fight crime

THE Ngcobo police massacre case could not have been cracked without the assistance of the community, Eastern Cape chairman of the portfolio committee on safety and liaison Michael Peter said on Thursday night.

Peter was delivering his keynote address during a gala dinner organised to recognise community police forums (CPF) at the SAPS Eastern Cape provincial headquarters in Zwelitsha.

The gala dinner, organised by provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga, saw CPFs from 22 towns honoured with recognition certificates.

In his address, Peter said: “Our police responded swiftly after community members went to the police station and tipped the police off about suspicious activities at that church. The police went there to investigate the allegations but they chose to fire first.”

Five on-duty policemen and a soldier were killed when the Ngcobo police station in the former Transkei was attacked by heavily-armed suspects on February 21.

Two days later, police shot and killed seven suspects at the Seven Angels Ministries churchyard in Ngcobo. Police at the time said the suspects, members of an an alleged cult, had apparently fired first.

Peter said: “The Eastern Cape has traversed a long journey towards promoting community police relations: CPFs are key in facilitating a safer environment in every community. The Ngcobo incident was sorted by community members who understand the saying: ‘Crime must fall’.”

Peter condemned the “wave” of land invasions and violent protests gripping the province.

On Wednesday, a Great Kei municipality building was set alight by arsonists, while King William’s Town police battled rioters involved in land grabs and a wave of violent protests in Ginsberg.

“Our police members have been working around the clock battling these planned [acts of] lawlessness that we have seen recently. We will not succumb to lawlessness,” said Peter.

At the ceremony, General Ntshinga called for the remodelling of CPFs in order to attract the youth, while Peter agreed that the war on crime could not be won if half of the 6.7 million people in the province were not taking part.

“Most people who are affected by crime are youth. They are easy targets and are used in trafficking of drugs and commissioning of robberies,” she said.

Ntshinga also said her police force should not be “expected” to clean up rubble such as rocks and burnt tyres after violent service delivery protests.

“That is the job of the municipality not us . . . all we are ensuring is law and order.” Ntshinga also appealed to the business community to help in the running of CPFs in the form of sponsorships and donations.

“The running of the CPFs requires money; the members have to travel long distances to get to meetings at their own costs, use their own airtime and they also need stationery as well,” Ntshinga said.

Mdantsane CPF cluster chairman Reverend Mziyanda Noqhayi said crime in Mdantsane had fallen sharply, which could be attributed to the good work of the CPF.

He said:“We work well with the police, meeting monthly where we do a crime overview, identify problems and come up with solutions.”

Noqhayi said Unit P township in Mdantsane had proven to be difficult.

“High levels of alcoholism and drug abuse is a challenge there,” he said.

East London CPF cluster chairwoman Siphelele Ngcai raised concern about the business community not coming on board.

“This is despite the fact that 80% of crime in East London is targeting businesses.

“During programmes organised to raise awareness, we struggle to feed community members,” Ngcai said.

Ngcai called for tougher sanctions against taverns and shebeens, saying that crime like rapes and murders mostly start at the drinking spots.