‘Work with us towards a safer city’ – taxi industry

POLOKWANE – Kgabo Mangabo, the chairperson of the Seshego Polokwane Taxi Association says much work still needs to be done to eradicate crime in the community and the best way to start this fight would be to find a way to sustain those that resort to crime as a way of life. He says that people who are addicted to drugs often resort to crime to feed their addiction and getting their assistance would help curb the overall crime levels in Polokwane.

“I have noted that most of the crime in Polokwane is as a result of ‘nyaope boys’ who are dependent on the drug. If we can find a way to get them off the streets and into rehabilitation centres we would have solved a majority of our problems. Most are not criminals at heart, they are forced by addiction and dependency to find a way to feed the habit.”

He says that he has taken much of his time to engage with some of the and found that even they know what they are doing is wrong but they cannot stop themselves due to the addiction. “We are talking about intelligent people here, people who could have been lawyers had they not made one bad decision that landed them in drug addiction. The problem is that we have given up on them and we are unforgiving, which means that we will continue to shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Mangabo says he will engage with the executive committee of the association to find a solution to this issue and has urged business owners to also lend them a helping hand.

“If I can get help and support from business owners then we can get a facility where these people can be taken to for rehabilitation. I have spoken to the addicts and they are willing, they just do not have someone in their corner to assist.”