DA visits local police to help curb crime
The DA visited the Seshego and Polokwane police stations to gather information on drug-related crime in the area
POLOKWANE – The visit was also organised to find out which tasks or activities they require assistance.
On Wednesday, 28 June, from 00:00 to 16:30, DA Shadow Minister of Police, Zakhele Mbhele Member of Parliament (MP), and Katlego Suzan Phala, DA’s Provincial Legislature in the Women and Persons with Disabilities, Sports, Arts and Culture, Social Development, Public Participation, Safety and Security committees respectively and Lindy Wilson, MP and Deputy Spokesperson for the National Assembly, joined forces as they went from Seshego to Polokwane police stations to conduct the oversight visits.
With the research the DA has done in the last financial year, the Polokwane and Seshego stations recorded just under 900 drug-related crimes. Together, they represent almost 10% of Limpopo’s drug-related crimes, such as the possession, manufacture and sale of drugs. Moreover, drug-related crimes have increased by an astounding 350% in Polokwane and 267% in Seshego over the past decade.
“The purpose of this meeting is to do an oversight visit at the Seshego and Polokwane police stations to find out what challenges they face so we can try to come up with a solution and hopefully a conclusion. We need to know what solutions they need to have better support so we can report back to Parliament for feedback.
“We really like to carry out these oversight visits to add value and to improve police on ground level,” Mbatha explained.
During the oversight visit to the Polokwane Police Station, Mbhele explained that the discussion was an open discussion and also a fact-finding exercise. They sat down with Polokwane Police Station Commander, Brig Mosima Maila, to explain the purpose and aim of their visit. “We want to understand the local issues and dynamics within police stations. We also want to understand what are the challenges or needs they face with relation to crime and if they have identified them. We want to assist where we can in terms of facilities if they need equipment or even more hands,” Mbhele said. Maila explained that since Polokwane became a city, people think they can do as they please whenever they want to.
“Our city is in fact surrounded by rural areas. With this visit, I would suggest that we target the youth especially. Most of them want to start their own businesses and be independent, but as long as they are under the influence of nyaope there will continue to be a problem. They don’t even want to attend school anymore. We will need help from all angles, we as the law enforcers will try our level best to meet each other halfway,” urged Maila.
He said the DA can assist by building shelters for the people living on the streets as it would be a good start.
Maila said South Africans fight with foreigners as they believe the foreigners bring drugs into the country. “We are trying everything to assist the community to eradicate crime, it is not easy however. We make arrests daily and hold meetings monthly basis. We arrest individuals for petty crimes and they are released the next day because the law does not keep them in jail if they did not commit a serious crime. We can’t keep them in jail for a longer period and the least we can do is keep an eye on them,” he concluded.
