Road death prevention a priority
THE DEPARTMENT of Transport, Safety and Liaison has allocated R80 million towards reducing road fatalities and crashes in the Province.
The MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison Pauline Williams during her budget speech yesterday also announced that a new drivers licence and testing centre would be opened in Galeshewe.
“A feasibility study will be conducted for the establishment of a Traffic Training College in the Province.”
Williams said that the Province’s readiness, monitoring and evaluation in Northern Cape Public Order units had been conducted, in preparation for the local government elections on August 3.
She said they were awaiting the outcome of an evaluation of the response time of police stations and the SAPS Flying Squad at 14 police stations in the Province.
She said the department would extend the bursary policy to include underprivileged members of the public, where an estimated 10 percent of the budget would set aside depending on the annual approved budget for external bursaries.
Williams stated that they were in the process of reviewing the organogram where the qualifications, skills audit and placement of staff would also be verified.
“The Department is spearheading a programme for record and information security, in the Province.”
She added that community satisfaction surveys would be conducted on perceptions of safety and contributing factors towards crime in neighbourhoods.
“These surveys will be conducted at precincts where there is an increase in crime or breakdown in police community relations or trust in the police.
“In order to enhance the integration of community safety responses at a local level, the department will facilitate and guide processes, in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association, the Department of Co-opera- tive Government, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, and local government, to establish community safety forums at local level.”
Williams indicated that 82 Expanded Public Work Programme participants were appointed to deal with social crime prevention projects.
“They have been placed at 35 high crime focused police stations to implement social crime prevention projects. These projects will be focusing on anti-substance abuse, prevention of violence against vulnerable groupings and community mobilisation in the fight against crime.”
She stated that the civilian oversight would also ensure that the SAPS complied with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate on the recommendations of criminal cases against SAPS members.
“The Department will continue to ensure the ability of SAPS to investigate service delivery complaints and give feedback to the communities”.
Williams added that a project would be launched for the safety of homeless children.
She indicated that structured relations with the police, community policing forums, taxi associations and the South African Network for Women in Transport would be strengthened.