Gauteng allocates R173m to fight crime
Funds for drones, high-tech vehicles
The Gauteng department of community safety has been given an additional R173m to implement the introduction of drones and vehicles which will be used to fight crime.
Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo revealed this at the tabling of his medium term budget policy statement in the legislature yesterday.
Mamabolo said the money will be used to fight crime, corruption and lawlessness in the province.
“These funds will go towards the recruitment and training of peace wardens, tools of trade, procurement of 10 drones, 50 vehicles and 500,000 panic buttons,” he said.
The introduction of drones and response vehicles was announced by premier Panyaza Lesufi.
Lesufi said he wants to use technology and young people to fight crime in the province.
This will be done by introducing 6,500 new Gauteng police officers.
These will be supported by 400 hi-tech vehicles which will be deployed in each ward, 180 drones and five helicopters. Anyone in a crime situation will press a panic button on their cellphone and a drone will go ahead of the response team, giving the officer a picture of what is happening before they arrive.
Mamabolo told the legislature that the budget has been adjusted upwards by R2.4bn to R155.3bn.
Among other projects to be implemented for job creation will be the hiring of 80,000 people from Evaton, Westbury, Soweto and Soshanguve to construct residential fill-in units in townships over a period of 12 months.
These are housing units which will be built in these townships in spaces that have already been approved for residential development.
The health department will receive R1bn to offset pressures coming from the new public sector wage bill while agriculture and rural development will receive R39m for the same.
Education received R85m to supplement their infrastructure funding while human settlement received R100m towards finishing of incomplete projects.
Mamabolo said the budget will be encored on five priorities. These are economic recovery, fight against crime and corruption, changing living conditions in townships, informal settlements and hostels, improving wellness of people and strengthening the capacity of the state.
“Put differently, the budget adjustment gives us an opportunity to already be planting the seed for the medium- and long-term funding of the “Five Elevated Priorities”.
“Since the announcement of the Five Elevated Priorities, departments have been hard at work fine-tuning and aligning their five-year strategic plans and annual performance plans to ensure that these priorities are at the centre of their programmes and budgets,” said Mamabolo.