MEC tackles police at Evander and eMbalenhle
He said some police are in cahoots with drug dealers and a report will be sent to the provincial commissioner.
The Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe, was fuming about the Evander and eMbalenhle police stations during the Mpumalanga Premier Imbizo on September 7, held at the Risko Fakude Stadium.
Shongwe lambasted these two police stations for not functioning properly. There are nine police stations in the Govan Mbeki Municipal area, namely Bethal, eMzinoni, eMbalenhle, Tritchadt, Charl Cilliers, Evander, Kinross, Secunda and Leandra.
Shongwe said all of these stations have their challenges, but in some places, the police are accused of working with criminals.
“I visited the Evander Police Station and found it beautiful and clean, but I was surprised to hear that some police officers are in cahoots with drug dealers,” he said.
Shongwe revealed the Govan Mbeki cluster of police stations is among those with the highest crime rate in the province.
According to the MEC, the fact that drugs are smoked in the vandalised Sijongile Ndamase Community Hall next to the police station in eMbalenhle shows the station is not functioning correctly.
“Children are kidnapped and raped and there is also gangsterism crime in eMbalenhle.”
He demanded a full report from the Gert Sibande district offices on these police stations to be sent to the provincial commissioner.
Shongwe assured the community the taverns in eMbalenhle would be checked for compliance because they are some of the main contributing factors to crime.
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He also warned community forums that jeopardise community projects by threatening contractors and demanding money for which they did not work.
“They hijack communities when there are projects. They always intimidate the community, the municipality and the provincial government departments where they want to benefit. This is nonsense,” he said.
Shongwe said legislated forums such as the Local Economic Development within municipalities are accessible to the community.
Without identifying the person, the MEC implied that a certain person who was very verbal at the imbizo was the driving force behind a forum that is intimidating and stopping contractors from completing their work.
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The Mpumalanga premier, Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane also attested to what the MEC said about the forum and the specific person at whom he was pointing a finger.
She said she was also victimised by a forum for the unemployed years ago when she visited eMbalenhle.
“When we were moving around eMbalenhle, I told the mayor that I know this place and nearly died in this area because of that forum.
“I agree with the MEC, the same person who was talking too much in this imbizo is the one who did wrong things because I nearly died at his hand. I have a first-hand experience about these forums,” she said.
Tsipane said she kept going because she had work to do as a premier. She appealed to Shongwe to attend to the serious issues at Evander and eMbalenhle police stations.
