“THE journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” These words were quoted by General Major Makhosazane Kheswa at the unveiling of the new Pinetown SAPS Community Service Centre (CSC).
The revamp of the CSC is the start of a much bigger and exciting work to upgrade the whole station, which is in a sad state.
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Kheswa was among the guests present at the opening and reminded police officers that a police station is not for detention only but must also be receptive and welcoming to the community.
“To achieve a great working relationship with the public and for people to regain their trust in us, officers needs to change their attitude. With a positive attitude, we can achieve a lot, so I appeal to our officers to change their behaviour, love their work and do it with pride,” she said.
Acting Station Commander Colonel Ronnie Heeralall said with this revamp, he hopes it will also uplift the morale of the members as the end role is service delivery.
“Our members spend most of their time at the station, so I appeal to them to love and care for this place as they would care for their homes. Working in a presentable place is also good for their mental state. With such a welcoming centre and our officers working over and beyond their line of duty to assist, this will definitely change the public’s attitude towards police officers,” he said.
Heeralall added that the dilapidating station is among the many stations that have been in need of a renovation for years, and they are pleased that their turn has come.
Pinetown CPF chairman Tony da Canha said that, over the years, they have tried to clean and paint the bottom part of the station to make it look presentable with help from various teams and donations.
“Recently, we sent a letter out to the parliament. This is a big station, but it was a mess – how can the members be happy and give their best working under such a depressing building?” he said.
Da Canha said they were thankful to everyone who made this possible.
“Our ward councillor, Melanie Brauteseth, and her husband, Tim, who is the DA member of parliament, played a huge role in making this a success. If it were not for everyone’s hard work, it would not have been possible. This is a start – I am pleased about it, and I must say it is actually looking nice,” he said.
With this upgrade, police said they believe that it will encourage the community to come forward and report crime.
“That is the aim of the community service centre. To fight and combat crime, we need the community to work with us; we cannot do it alone,” said Colonel Khumbulani Mhlongo.
Ward 18 councillor Melanie Fraser Brauteseth welcomed the upgrade. She confirmed the work completed was as a result of sustained pressure on the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure at parliamentary and provincial level by the DA’s representative in the National Council of Provinces, Tim Brauteseth.
“There is still much work to be done, but we are pleased that the work environment of our SAPS has improved and are hopeful that these improved facilities will result in better service to residents,” she said.
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