NC cops need more resources
MORE police officials, vehicles, resources and funding is required to address crime in the Northern Cape.
This is according to the Deputy Minister of Police, Bongani Mkongi, who visited the Northern Cape on the weekend to evaluate the way that law enforcement in the Province is coping with crime.
During his visit, Mkongi lead an anti-crime campaign with visits to communities in Griquatown, Douglas, Schmidtsdrift, Campbell and Kimberley.
The deputy minister’s visit came in response to an invitation from community-based crime-fighters Wanya Tsotsi and included engagements with all role-players in crime prevention, including government, NGOs and the general public.
Blankets were also donated to needy residents.
During his public session at the Galeshewe Recreation Hall yesterday afternoon, Mkongi encouraged the youth to play an active part in combating crime in their community and he encouraged them to follow Wanya Tsotsi’s lead in taking a proactive approach.
“Our budget is wasted on building more offices rather than fighting crime,” he told the hundred-odd residents in attendance.
“You can’t win a war from the comfort of an air-conditioned office when crime is happening on the ground and on the dusty streets of Galeshewe.”
“The actions taken by Wanya Tsotsi are the type that the youth need (to emulate), as the group aims to build rather than destroy,”
The deputy minister explained that the weekend’s visit formed part of a nationwide tour to all nine provinces and that his department was in the process of identifying ways to assist law enforcement in performing its duties and of improving the safety of the general public, while also ensuring that members are always accessible to communities.
“One of the challenges that we have identified is the impact of the exponential rate at which the population is growing in relation to the existing number of police stations,” Mkongi said. “In an effort to address this matter, we are going to utilise mobile stations as an intervention.
“Another concern is the relationship between members of the SAPS and the communities they serve, as many people are complaining about dockets that go missing as well as officials who are assisting criminals.
“Calls have been made for more boots on the ground while we are also addressing the shortage of police vehicles. We are looking to develop a system to improve the local communities’ confidence in the SAPS.”
Mgonki added that in order to reduce the temptation that police officials face, to aid criminals for financial gain, the salaries of members needed to be re-evaluated.
“Many police officers are forced to use taxis as their main mode of transportation as they cannot afford to buy their own vehicles, nor houses for their families on their current salaries,” he explained. “It is the taxpayers who must pay for the fight against crime.
“The president has given us a timeline of two years; and before the elections in 2019 we must have moved miles in terms of changing the face of the SAPS.”
The deputy minister concluded by emphasising the need for restructuring the SAPS in order to ensure that police resources are made available where they are required and that all vacancies within the SAPS be filled by competent staff, with a focus on providing equal job opportunities to women.