Honourable Minister of Police, Mr Nkosinathi Nhleko
Honourable Deputy Minister of Police, Ms Maggie Sotyu
MEC Mchunu transport, community safety and liaison
Executive Mayor of Uthungulu District Her Worship Mchunu
KZN Provincial Commissioner Let Gen Ngobeni
Other provincial commissioner and Divisional Commissioners present
Group Executive: Human Resources, Ms Nonkululeko Sishi
Transnet management present
Ingonyama Trust Board
Mambuka Amakhosi
Colleagues
Local community leaders present
Community members at large
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning to each and every one of you and thank you for gracing us with your presence as Transnet officially hands over the Mambuka Satellite Police Station to the South African Police Service (SAPS). We remain eternally grateful for the kindness of Transnet, as they help us solidify our presence in this community.
Today, we are here for the handing over of this beautiful structure we see here. At the same time, we are here to launch what we call our Front-line Service Delivery project at this police station.
The Front-line Service Delivery project, which we are doing with the assistance of our partner Old Mutual, aims at promoting access to our police stations, standardising the corporate brand of the SAPS and sensitising you as the community about the professional conduct of our police officials, which is acting with integrity, respecting everyone’s diversity and the law, and performing our duties according to the SAPS’s Code of Ethics.
By doing this, we want to assure you as the community of Mambuka that we are committed to delivering on our service promise by staying true to our values, which are to -
- protect everyone’s rights and to be impartial, respectful, open and accountable to the community
- use the powers given to us in a responsible way
- provide a responsible, effective and high-quality service with honesty and integrity
- evaluate our service continuously and make every effort to improve on it
- ensure the effective, efficient and economic use of resources
- develop the skills of all members through equal opportunity
- cooperate with all communities, all spheres of government and other relevant role players.
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the media and local residents present, our Front-line Service Delivery project will go a long way in demonstrating to this community that the SAPS is committed to:
- instilling a sense of pride in police officials about the nature of police work striving toward a professional and community-centered police service
- improving the police’s relationship with the community
- restoring confidence and trust in the SAPS.
We have spent more than R1,2 million refurbishing the infrastructure here. We have installed a generator, air conditioners and completely redone the Community Service Centre. As part of improving member safety, the counter has bullet proof class - a first for SAPS projects.
We also have improved the security of the station with fence perimeter lighting and CCTV coverage. There are carports for 8 vehicles, water tanks with booster pumps to assist with weak water pressure.
We have also done a lot of work on the information technology side. There was only one telephone line. We've installed a virtual satellite with an additional four telephones and separate fax line.
The handset radio has been replaced with a base set, which is more reliable with a wider reach to neighbouring stations such Empangeni, Richards Bay and Esibayeni without having to rely on the mother station Ntambanana police station.
We also have scanning facility, three computers allowing the station to access SAPS systems such as Case Administration as well as person, goods, stock circulation system.
Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to call upon the management of this police station to live up to our values and service promise to the community, as we move swiftly to address crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. Likewise, we call upon every community members of Mambuka to report any form of crime they witness, no matter how small or big.
Ladies and gentlemen of Mambuka, let us go back to the basics and all strive to practice Ubuntu. I speak about Ubuntu because September is Heritage Month and on the 24th, we will be celebrating our diverse heritage as a country. As a community, we need to create a heritage that we can be proud of for future generations.
Members of the community, a living heritage refers to the cultural knowledge, expressions and practices of different individuals and communities. It is passed from one generation to another and is an important part of the tapestry that forms South Africa. It allows communities and different groups to keep their history alive and provides them with a sense of identity.
As a country, we need to be united in creating a heritage free of criminal activities. We need to pass a heritage of law-abiding citizenry to the next generation and all future generations. Let us keep our history alive and be united as a community by working with the police to fight the scourge of crime to ensure that together, we create a safe and secure environment for all the people of this country.
We are very grateful to Transnet who worked tirelessly with the Department of Public Works, to ensure that we have a police station in this community. In the same breath, we can never thank the amakhosi of this area enough for having given us this land so that we can render our services to you.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to serve you. I thank every one of you for your time. And with this, it is back to you, programme director.
