KZN police stations ‘woefully under-resourced and mismanaged’

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police stations are woefully mismanaged and below par.

According to a review group, KZN police stations are facing electricity cuts, lacking digital advancements and are understaffed. Additionally, most of them have no reporting desk for gender-based violence.

These issues were revealed by the KZN delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), who had visited police stations in the province, including in townships and rural areas, to assess their resources.

Focusing on five KZN police stations – Manguzi, Inanda, Montclair, Bellair and Plessislaer – the delegation conducted visits last week, after the MEC for safety, community and liaison in the province, Peggy Nkonyeni, informed the delegates that almost all KZN police stations required refurbishment and urgent stepped-up maintenance.

New police commissioner has work cut out for him

Most KZN police stations visited lacked office space. Some stations did not have a desk for the reporting of gender-based violence and there was a backlog on firearm licence applications.

“It also heard that the centralisation of services results in procurement delays even for minor procurement needs, as the appointment of suppliers has to go through the head office in Pretoria, a step that renders the provision of services ineffective,” said delegation leader Lindiwe Bebee.

There are minimal police vehicles, as those in need of repairs take up to 81 days to be fixed.

Bellair police station has issues with electricity supply, which has been reported to the department of public works.

Manguzi police station did not have cleaning staff or groundsmen and only had four police officers on duty per shift, with two others based at a satellite station. Motor vehicle theft was high in the area.

Montclair police station, which is 120 years old, is dilapidated and detective branches are housed in a rented building 5km from the station.

Not just KZN police stations

But it’s no secret that police stations across the country are underresourced, not just in KwaZulu-Natal, according to anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee.

“There is often a shortage of personnel, vehicles, equipment, etc. It’s an ongoing problem. The police budget needs to be increased as a matter of urgency.

The new police commissioner, General Masemola, will have to prioritise this,” Abramjee said.

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Masemola served as KZN’s deputy provincial commissioner in charge of operations before his appointment to the top job, but according to KZN’s veteran violence monitor Mary de Haas, his performance was poor.

“His stint as the operational head was not impressive and he failed in crime prevention.

During that time, there was illegal paramilitary training and gun theft and killings by police had increased, including torture and abuse, also in public order policing… I have Independent Policing Investigative Directorate files on record regarding that.

For example, 43 guns went missing at Maphumulo and were not recovered by crime prevention operations,” said De Haas.

However, the problem was not one of poor leadership but poor strategic planning, said Ian Cameron of civil rights group Action Society.

This included problems with implementation and maintenance planning and a total collapse of the department of public works, Cameron said.

The situation is not something that one police commissioner can fix, especially since he might retire in February next year, he said.

“I think the new commissioner won’t change much. “It makes it very challenging because he has to retire in February next year. Will he change much? I doubt it strongly,” said Cameron.

rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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