MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu, has urged the KwaMaphumulo community to be at the forefront of all initiatives to fight crime, warning that KZN was a dangerous place engulfed by high levels of the taxi violence, faction fights and the molestation of women and children. Addressing a Community Crime Summit in KwaMaphumulo today, Mchunu said he was still shocked by the recent murders in the area, including the shooting of a final year Boston College student who was traveling in a taxi at the time but was now in a wheelchair.
He told delegates that the he was extremely concerned about the upsurge in taxi violence in the area which had claimed a lot of lives. Recently, Mchunu announced that government would shut down the taxi rank if the security situation at the rank continued to deteriorate. During the Summit today, Mchunu announced that the SANDF was on standby to be deployed in the area if the high levels of crime in the area persists. He however stressed that crime in KwaMaphumulo would decrease if the community took a stand against the scourge.
“It all starts with you, as the community of Maphumulo by committing yourselves in the fight against crime. As the community, you have to be prepared to hate crime; you must be prepared to report criminals, including corrupt police officers. You must also form your own crime fighting organisations or join such an organisation and work within the law and work with the police,” Mchunu told the delegates, urging the communities to stop protecting criminals. Citing the example of former President, Nelson Mandela and Youth Leader, Solomon Mahlangu, who, along with others, fought for the liberation and freedom of the country, Mchunu urged the community to play a role and work with authorities to liberate themselves from crime.
“As a free country today, it is imperative that we now liberate ourselves from crime. However, how can we say we are free when women are afraid to go out at night? We are a free country but people are murdered at their homes,” said Mchunu. Mchunu added that, in today’s democracy, communities were beset with social media networks and sophisticated cellular phones with advanced technology, which they should be using to fight crime. They were also laws today that allowed the communities to protest peacefully and form their own safety structures that will fight crime within the ambit of the law.
Mayors, the SAPS, Traditional Leaders, KZN Community Police Forum, KZN Community Crime Prevention Association, legal minds, The KZN Liquor Authority, The National Prosecuting Authority, Non-Governmental Organizations and Government Departments such as Home Affairs, Health, Justice, Social Development, Economic Development and Tourism and Correctional Services formed part of the delegates. The two-day Summit ends tomorrow.
Enquires:
Sipho Khumalo
Cell: 082-682-6437
E-mail: Sipho.khumalo@comsafety.gov.za
Kwanele Ncalane
Cell: 072 803 1462/079 699 5755
E-mail: Kwanele.ncalane@kzntransport.gov.za
