Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the police would soon unveil a programme for fighting crime across the province after meeting with
Diepsloot community leaders who were concerned about crime in the township.
Lesufi and MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko hosted a three-hour meeting behind closed doors with the community leaders at Diepsloot Police Station on October 17.
This was after several murders had occurred in Diepsloot including the killing of a pastor of a local church who was shot during a service and later died in a local clinic on October 14.
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“Community members raised a number of issues during the meeting and we are taking stock of all the issues that were raised. We need to consolidate the work that we do to fight crime in communities. We are incorporating all these matters and in the next few days we will unveil our programme to fight crime across the province,” he said.
“The issue of police station management and promises made by the national government earlier this year were among concerns that top the list of grievances of community members. They feel that majority of commitments made by national government have not been met.”
Ward 113 councillor Julius Maake who attended the meeting said the extra police officers who were deployed in the area earlier this year were withdrawn and he was apparently not given reasons for their removal.
“The minister of police Bheki Cele announced an additional 20 new vehicles for our police station earlier this year during the shutdown protest but we don’t see those vehicles. We have more police during the day and [fewer] during the night. We gave the new premier 100 days to come back to us with a tangible solution to the issue of crime in the area.”
Lesufi confirmed the issue of the withdrawal of police officers was raised during the meeting and that he would check with the Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela on why this was done.
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