He says this has been a problem for over 10 years that he has been staying here, but it has intensified over the past two years.
“These people are here openly using drugs in full view of the community. We don’t even call the police anymore because the last time we saw them in the area was in the first few weeks of the hard lockdown, since then they do not even attend to our cries.”
This comes after the police in Polokwane made a number of drug-related arrests over the past three months.
Trevor says this is not enough because drugs are still freely available on the street. He says that dealers and abusers need to be taken head-on in order to ensure accountability.
“I have tried to speak to a local councillor who is not interested in helping us. We never see her in the community. At the end of the day we need to stand together because the people in charge do not care about us.”
Local resident, Susan Maritz Clarke says she tried reporting the use of drugs in public spaces over the past week with no luck. She says there are two parks within walking distance from a local high school and everyone knows it is the go-to place for drugs.
“Everyone knows that in each of these parks a drug lord is stationed, they work like the taxis by marking their territory.
“The police know about them, and residents from all over town come to support their business. Sometimes there are fights and gun shots can be heard.”
She believes that this is infiltrating into the local schools and encourages drug use among the community and children in the area.
Polokwane Observer spoke to a drug dealer operating in the Bendor area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that they have some police officers “in their pocket” which is why they would never be busted.
“As much as we have some officers on our payroll we also have certain measures in place to ensure that we do not get arrested. This includes not keeping the drugs on person when in public.”
Polokwane Station Commander Brig, Gift Makhubele has urged the community to not give up on the police and to contact him personally on 082 778 7267 when faced with a challenge like getting ahold of the police.
