‘We’ll bring crime under control ’— Cyril
● President tells Bay audience he’s confident steps being taken by the government to rein in rampant criminality will bear fruit
With Nelson Mandela Bay’s designation as the murder capital of SA, President Cyril Ramaphosa says steps are being taken to address the city’s alarming crime rate.
During his two-day ANC campaign tour in the Eastern Cape, Ramaphosa was briefly accompanied by MajorGeneral Vuyisile Ncata, the Bay police district commissioner, yesterday.
Ramaphosa was on the campaign trail ahead of the May 29 national and provincial elections.
This month, the Mexican Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice (CPSC) released a report ranking the Bay ninth globally for its murder rate.
Speaking outside the Jesus Christ Empowerment Centre in Zwide, Ncata said the police were turning the tide and added efforts had recently yielded positive results.
“We’re winning this war on crime. We are arresting many people and have recovered many firearms.
“We’ve reduced murders in the last quarter by 20 bodies, and in an urban area like ours, that’s a milestone,” Ncata said.
“We’re still reducing murders and progress is being made.”
Ramaphosa conceded that crime was a major issue but said it was not unique to the city.
He said for that reason, the government had made several interventions, including increasing the number of police on the ground.
“Over the years, the number of police officers has been dropping and we’ve boosted police levels by 30,000.”
He said some of the new recruits had concluded their training.
“We’ve also decided to set up special liaison units in areas where crime has been manifesting itself in a bad way such as illegal mining, construction mafias and many [other] nodes.
“These will focus on the levels of criminality.
“We’ve looked at the National Security Council and criminal justice structures and are looking at how to address criminality.
“We’re confident we’ll be able to bring crime under control.
“My interaction with our people here has indicated to me the seriousness of this issue which we are addressing and will address with greater firmness.
Of the 30,000 police recruits, including the 10,000 already trained, Ncata said the Bay had received about 1,000.
After previous visits to the
Bay, Ramaphosa was critical, going as far as labelling the city “filthy”.
Asked about progress being made in the city, Ramaphosa said more effort was required to address existing challenges.
“With regards to the city, in my view, it is getting better or needs to get better than what it was when I last got here.
“There is work that is being done. It is not perfect but progress is being made and can be made.”
The ANC is in a coalition with the National Alliance, Patriotic Alliance, EFF, PAC and AIC in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Coalitions are always difficult to manage because you are looking at many interests, different interests and competing interests,” Ramaphosa said.
He gave Eastern Cape premier and ANC provincial chair Oscar Mabuyane an ambitious target to win the election in the province.
“The ANC already has support here and we’re going to give you a target of 85% in the
elections,” he said.
In the 2019 elections, the ANC in the province received 69.26% of the votes.
This was down from 70.75% received in 2014.
Ramaphosa also touched on one of the city’s biggest employers,
Volkswagen Group Africa.
In the early part of last year, the company’s management met electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who was conducting a fact-finding mission to assess the effects of load-shedding on the automotive sector.
This was because automobile manufacturers such as Toyota SA, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Nissan were exempted from load-shedding.
On this, Ramaphosa said assessments were conducted by Ramokgopa and Eskom on different companies to decide on exemptions.
“Evaluations look at the various companies, economic facilities, or undertakings that require specialised attention because of their contribution to the economy, job creation and how they use electricity.
“At times, they can get exemption allowances. This is based on arrangements made.”
He said sometimes the company
might propose to use electricity predominantly during off-peak hours or at midday peaks, and based on these arrangements, they could establish the parameters for the exemption process.
“I’m sure those discussions are happening or have happened with [Volkswagen Group Africa]. I will await a report on that.”
Speaking outside the Feather Market Hall on Saturday, Ramaphosa urged the public to allow party processes to unfold amid calls for National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe MapisaNqakula to be removed from her position.
He had been asked about the potential enforcement of the ANC’s step-aside rule. He urged patience until the investigations were concluded.
Mapisa-Nqakula is facing allegations of fraud and corruption relating to R2.3m she allegedly solicited and received from a former military contractor during her tenure as defence
minister.
Ramaphosa said MapisaNqakula was co-operating with law enforcement agencies. Should the issue go further, ANC processes would kick in.
“As far as I know, they raided her house, she hasn’t been charged yet and she said she’s taking special leave.
“There’s a process that’s unfolding.
“We have processes, geared and independent institutions and, in the end, we must rely on those institutions to do their work.
“When we give them space and opportunity to do their work then we will be successful.
“As far as I’m concerned, the speaker said she’s co-operating, and that in itself says something to all of us.
“It’s already known [that] when it reaches a particular point, certain actions need to be taken.
“There’s no running away from that.”