Vanderbijlpark. – Residents of Marikana informal settlement have appealed to Police Minister Bheki Cele for assistance in combating the persistent crime plaguing their area.
This is after Minister Cele, alongside National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola and Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko, convened an Imbizo in Marikana in the area.
The visit to the squatter camp formed part of a series of engagements planned in communities grappling with high crime rates.
Greeted by hundreds of residents, the police top brass including Sedibeng District Commissioner, Major General Nkhensani Lemba, and Vanderbijlpark station commander Brigadier Nikiwe Sefatsa, listened to grievances of escalating crime.
Some of the complaints comprised the police station being far from Marikana and not having a swift response time to crimes reported by the community.
A resident in the area said “The turnaround time when we report incidents to the police is late to an extent that we, as Sedibeng residents, always feel like we are not being protected compared to other region. We are requesting to the minister to make sure that our police stations are well-resourced.”
#sapsHQ National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola addresses community members, saying the SAPS is hard at work to ensure there is a Police Station built for the community of Bophelong so residents can have access to Policing services. DD pic.twitter.com/GhaVXhDFYU
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) April 12, 2024
Responding to the grievances, Fannie Masemola promised the community a police station.
“There’s a lot of violent crime in this area, there’s a lot of domestic crimes in this area. We are aware that the police station of Vanderbijlpark is also too far from here. So, Bophelong there must be a police station. So, we are in that process of acquiring a stand for the police station of Bophelong. Once we have finalised that, we will come back and tell you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cele linked crime happening in the area to alcohol as the biggest contributing factor to some of the crimes.
[IN PICTURES] #CrimePreventionImbizo underway at the Marikana in Vanderbijlpark where @SAPoliceService & residents are engaging in matters of crime. The high consumption of alcohol has been blamed as a leading driver of crime in the area. There are 260 shebeens in the area. pic.twitter.com/P60rxei6nZ
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) April 12, 2024
“There are 250 shebeens here and 49 bottle stores. That’s a number greater than churches which are only 26. That is why we will have to talk to the Liquor Board. They can’t just dish out shebeens as if they are barneys. More the liquor, more the crime, especially rape and murder,” he said.
