Address by MEC for Transport, Safety, Security and Liaison Mme Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana during the Departmental Youth Month closing ceremony: Combating crime and substance abuse: Sekhukhune District, Moteti Village
Programme director
The Executive Mayor of Sekhukhune
The Mayor of Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality
Councillors present
Provincial Commissioner Lt-General NJ Ledwaba
The Commander of the Groblersdal Cluster
The station commander of Dennilton SAPS and all the station commanders under Groblersdal Cluster
The Head of Department of Safety, Security and Liaison Mme Nchabeng Tsebe
The senior management of the department
Sector departments present here
Mantona a rena ba etilwe pele ke Kgoshi Mathebe
Dedicated members of Community Policing Forums and Community Safety Forums
Members of the media
Sechaba sa Moteti
Thobela! Sani bonani!
e are meeting here today at a time in our history wherein the bravery and hope we saw in the youth of 1976 is lost in our youth in democracy. This year marks exactly forty years since the Soweto student uprisings. We are meeting today at a time when the political environment in our communities is not conducive and the buck stops with our youth.
When comrade Oliver Tambo, one of the stalwarts of the ruling party, said the nation that does not take care of its youth is doomed for failure we agreed with him. We said there is no way that this government that came into existence through the tireless efforts of the young people can even attempt to forsake its youth.
Little did we know that the ushering in of the new dispensation will bring an undesirable chapter of Nyaope and alcohol abuse to the youth of this country. Little did we realise that the freedom we fought so hard to achieve wherein some people had to lose their lives will be so betrayed.
Programme director
There is no future in the past. It cannot be correct that when the economic circumstances in the country do not allow for massive job creation, drugs and alcohol abuse should be the way to go. Nobody can deny that our economy does not create jobs at the rate we would have expected. Every government department and municipalities have sections that deal with issues of the youth. Lack of formal jobs should not discourage our youth from being creative and approach prospective funders when they have viable business ideas.
Education is still the only weapon that can break the cycle of poverty that continues to condemn many of our youths to a life of no hope. This is also supported by the former president of our democratic country, Nelson Mandela, when he said: “Education is the only weapon one can use to change the world”.
To that effect there are bursaries aimed at ensuring that those young people who are academically-deserving get financial assistance. Through this we are trying to ensure that one’s background does not determine his/her foreground. The Internship and learnership programmes are also meant to empower our young graduates with workplace experience.
Our government has since adopted the National Development Plan as its policy. Since then we have seen the roll-out of the infrastructure development throughout the country. Young people are expected to be playing an active role in the implementation of this plan. The plan envisages a crime-free society by the year 2030. That would be a kind of society of youth who do not do drugs and abuse alcohol.
Motivated by the undying hope and spirit of the youth of 1976, our youth in the democratic Moteti village of Limpopo province cannot be expected to fail their communities. Despite going through some difficult times in their educational lives, we need learners who are able to see the light in the mist of darkness. We need the youth that can compete with their peers in the global arena.
Programme director
I have been reliably informed that the police holding cells at Dennilton police station are full of young people. And unfortunately, youth from Moteti village are in majority. There is no way we can develop as a country if our young brains are locked up in jails for being involved in criminal activities. We need those sharp brains loitering in police cells to chat the way forward in terms of how we can grow the economy that creates jobs.
We are serious when we say crime does not pay. As much as we encourage communities to work with police in the fight against crime, we condemn cases where people take law into their hands. Mob justice must not be condoned. It is a fact that house burglary is rife in this area and criminals target anything from Plasma TVs to the foodstuffs in the fridges.
Those that are caught by the community and confessed to have committed such crimes must be handed to the police unharmed. Let me make this appeal once again that those home-owners who work in Gauteng and come home only on weekends must ensure that somebody looks after their property when they are away. The least you can do is to alert your neighbour about your movements. This will be done to ensure that the house does not become a target for criminals. The same goes to vacant buildings such as old shops. Criminals have the tendency to hide their loot inside these buildings and make them their hiding places after committing crimes.
We still encourage communities to participate community policing forum and work with police in their area to prevent and fight crime. Allow me to thank our Induna, Ntate Ditshego and his leadership for having taken a decision that foreigners will not be allocated stands in this community. That is done not because we hate them but simply because we want to monitor and control their movements. The furthest they can get is to rent some shops in the area. That is allowed. When we live in harmony with our foreign brothers and sisters, they must know it is done for humanitarian reasons. When the situation gets back to normal in their countries, they are free to go back.
Programme director
South Africa has a good news story to tell, despite all the negative reports. The General Household Survey released recently confirmed that our country is a very different place to that of 1994 and we should not let the good stories to be made to disappear because of Nyaope and alcohol abuse. Unlike in other countries, our constitution guarantees rights to residents to protest peacefully. However, section 36 of the same constitution confirms that no right is absolute. Wherever there are dissatisfaction with the authorities and the communities resolved to embark on a protest that should be done responsibly. Protestors must at all times exercise maximum respect to public property. Protesting against lack of water should have nothing to do with libraries and school children. Burning public property only serves to reserve all the benefits and good intentions this country is doing on daily basis.
Success breeds success and that is universal truth. If we continue to make Moteti a place to be known for house-breaking, think about the children—the future and hope of this community. We proudly say in Sepedi gore Ntlo lerole ga e tswale kgoshi.
There is no way you can expect Moteti to produce intellectuals and skilled people who will take this community forward if all your children see and hear about are reports on drugs and alcohol abuse. You will always look outside for every skill that you should instead be having in your communities.
Programme director
Let me emphasise on the importance and benefits of strong and effective community policing forum. We have been reliably informed that there is a Nyaope spot at the Moteti shopping complex next to the garage. There is no way this spot can be popular without perpetrators not being arrested. They are our brothers and sisters who stay with us in the same houses. Their illegal business grows because we support them. If we love our communities and want residents to experience a crime-free Moteti, there is no way criminals can operate as they wish knowing they have dimpimpi in community members who alert them whenever police are approaching.
Let us hold hands together as caring members of Moteti community and vow to eradicate criminal activities in the community. Basotho ba re ‘ntho tse ntle o a iketsetsa ngwaneso. Let us also make our community the better place to live in. Lack of recreational facilities in the area is no excuse to involvement in drugs and substance abuse. The number of liquor outlets in this area is worrying. We will liaise with the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism in the province to ascertain as to whether these outlets met the requirements to operate. The owners of these outlets should bear in mind that in their pursuit to make profits they must also think about the future of their community.
As I conclude, I would like to make a special appeal to you all that remember that nobody will come from somewhere to fix problems in this area. Police can do their best, but if you do not support them you will always complain of their inefficiency. Crime has become a societal issue and as such let us work closely with police to make sure that we fight it to the end. By so doing we will be creating a conducive environment that allows our youth to engage progressively in development-oriented activities.
That would be the day and time when the Youth of 1976 will look at you from their graves and say our efforts were not in vain.
Thank you! Si ya bonga! Re a leboga!
