Known for his vocals and creativity, the new MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Vusi Shongwe, has promised to turn this department around and help win back the people’s trust and confidence.
“I am familiar with this department, which will make my work much easier because I know where to start tightening all the loose screws and bolts. My long-term vision is to help fight crime and all sorts of criminal activities, with special attention to genderbased violence (GBV).
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“First and foremost, I intend establishing ward-based councillors and war rooms that will deal specifi cally with this issue, because
I strongly believe that the perpetrators are people from the very communities. I believe for us as government to win the battle against GBV and all forms of abuse against women and children, we need to start working with communitybased organisations such as Moral Regeneration and faith-based organisations,” stressed Shongwe.
He was speaking exclusively to Mpumalanga News as he outlined his plans for this department. Shongwe is no stranger to this department as he had served here during former premier, David Mabuza’s, tenure.
He can be accredited for establishing, among others, the provincial traffic amaberet unit, following in the footsteps of police minister Bheki Cele’s Tactical Response Team (TRT).
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“I want to help uproot the seed of corruption and bring stability to this department. I am passionate about fighting crime and I am certainly not afraid to go with my SAPS team to places where people say are a no-go areas. I want to strengthen our relationship with the
community policing forums (CPFs) in the province. I believe that for us to win this battle we need the CPFs on our side, and therefore
government must always support and look after these structures,” he continued.
During his first tenure in this department, Shongwe spearheaded many crime-busting operations in which most-wanted criminals
were arrested and illegal liquor traders clamped.
He said to help bring back police morale and encourage members of the force to work with diligence, he is looking at ways to
establish what would be called the MEC’s Excellency Awards.
“Even though I don’t believe that government employees should be awarded for their services, as it’s their duty to serve the people, I think there’s a huge need to build staff morale and reward and recognise those that are going behind their duty to serve our people. Such awards should also include our key stakeholders, the community policing forums, because they also play a huge role in the fi ght against crime,” said Shongwe.
