Metro cops ‘missing in action’
DA ethekwini deputy caucus leader Mzamo Billy said the City needed to have a crime-prevention plan
POLITICAL parties say ethekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda needs to make sure that the current metro police contingent are visible before deploying more officers.
This comes after Kaunda spoke at a prayer meeting for rapper Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA, and his friend and former manager, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, who were slain outside Durban restaurant Wish on Florida Road on Friday night.
Kaunda said this year the City would have 400 metro police trainees because it wanted to give people the assurance that the police were not sitting somewhere doing nothing.
DA ethekwini deputy caucus leader Mzamo Billy said the mayor was being “mischievous”. He said the City needed to have a crime-prevention plan and hold meetings with the police. He said at present, the City employed just over 2 000 metro police officers and according to recent reports, it required at least 7000 to effectively carry out its safety mandate.
“While the SAPS plays a more central role in crime prevention, one of the metro police’s principal objectives is to put in place measures to prevent crime. Furthermore, the city has declared that it will spend close to R300 million to deploy smart cameras in crime hot spots. We expect this to become an integral part of the city's crime-prevention strategy,” he said.
IFP ethekwini regional chairperson Mdu Nkosi said it was fine for the mayor to add more police but the question was, were the current metro officers seen where they should be? He said it would be a waste of money to add more police when illegal guns have not been taken away from people.
“People are being shot every day. The CCTV cameras in the city are not working or you would find that they will tell you that the camera was not facing where the crime was taking place,” said Nkosi.
He said the metro police were nowhere to be found when there was load shedding. Instead, traffic was controlled by homeless men. “When is he going to address the issue of homeless people and those people who are coming out of nowhere without any identification and committing crimes?” he asked.
Speaking at the prayer send-off for AKA and his friend at Florida Park, opposite the Wish restaurant on Florida Road, Kaunda said they were going to add more metro police because their army was also limited in terms of footprint. “There are interventions that will enable us to reduce the levels of crime,” said Kaunda.
He added that they needed to guarantee the safety of residents and tourists.
He said this was the kind of incident the city should not face in the future. “It is important to strengthen our work in terms of technology, and CCTV cameras to be linked with police operations.”
Kaunda also urged people to stop speculating on AKA’S death and instead give the Forbes family support.
“People who work in the same industry are bound to disagree with each other, but because they share different views does not mean they should be accused,” he said.
During the prayer session, fans and Durban artists including Tzozo, DJ Tira, Zakwe and Duncan sang and danced to AKA’S music. ethekwini Municipality speaker Thabani Nyawose, deputy mayor Zandile Myeni and others from the mayor's office attended the service. Flowers were laid outside the restaurant.
Tibz’s family was also present but said they were not ready to talk.
Some fans got emotional when they spoke of their hero.
Thembi Dazela, who works in Florida Road, said she first noticed AKA when she heard his song Congratulate. “After listening to that song, I became his fan.
“His music was amazing. When I heard that he was shot while I was working, I dropped everything and rushed to Wish and when I got there my brother was no more,” she said.
Ayanda Poswa also said her favourite song was Congratulate. “This song means a lot to everyone. It gets everyone in the mood and spreads the love,” she said.
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