New Modjadjiskloof Saps commander builds community relationships
Modjadjiskloof SAPS has a new commander and she is ready to bring about change. Lt Col Makgadi Manamela, a mother of two, hails from Lenyenye in Phalaborwa and joined the SAPS 1995.
She was deployed to Bolobedu SAPS after her training and four years later was promoted to sergeant. In 2005 she became an inspector working in crime prevention. In 2018 she was promoted to warrant officer and then to captain working in Letsitele as a Vispol commander.
Last year she was appointed station commander for Mokwakwaila SAPS and shortly afterwards received the lieutenant colonel rank and is now the station commander in Modjadjiskloof. She says progressing through the ranks in the police service takes hard work and dedication. According to Manamela, her focus is on crime prevention. “When I arrived here, I changed the duty list and with the help of the other police officers, we had a meeting where the need for crime prevention to keep the community safe and alert, was identified,” she adds.
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She says that with the support of the communication officer at the station, Const Eliot Mabulane, they are ready to tackle crime. “We received a new car from the provincial commissioner of police, Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe and Brig Hlulani Mashaba. “I want to bring about change and I will make sure that we, with the CPF, YCOP, the community, and stakeholders, address crime. “We are going to make sure that mutual respect between the police and the community is created,” she adds.
Manamela says the biggest challenges in the area are assault and gender-based violence (GBV). “When people are drunk, they fight and take it out on their partners. I want Modjadjiskloof to be a safe area where residents are able to walk around freely and without fear,” concludes Manamela.
