INkosi demands police station in Dondotha

THE government must come clean on its promise to fight crime, if it is to be taken seriousiously.

This is the view of the head of Mhlana Traditional Authority, iNkosi Mbusowabathethwa Mthethwa, who has been waiting for a police station to be built in his crime-torn area of Dondotha Reserve for years.

INkosi Mthethwa, a crime fighter in his own right, identified a need for a police station in the early 1980s, but to date nothing has happened.

‘I submitted a request for a police station to the then National Party-led government in the early 1980s. Even when a new democratic government was established, I continued putting pressure on them to fast track the building of a police station. I even requested the then Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethw, a who took up the issue, but nothing has materialised.

‘It is an open secret that Dondotha has been a hub of criminal activities, with car hijackings, house breakings and stock theft on the rise. I am also a crime victim myself. Just recently my car was stolen while It was parked inside my house. That’s how serious crime is this area,’ he said.

INkosi Mthethwa said he was puzzled as to why the process of building a police station was moving at a snail’s pace, whereas crime in the area was escalating.

He said KwaMbonambi Police Station did not have the capacity to monitor and fight crime in the area as big as Dondotha.

He also accused the uMfolozi Municipality of being ‘too casual’ in dealing with the issue.

‘They (uMfolozi Municipality) are the ones who are supposed to give a final approval for this project, since the land belongs to them. We have had meetings with them to push this project, but they seem to be taking their time,’ he said.

Another local resident, Sabelo Mchunu, who holds beneficial occupation rights on the land to be used for the police station, hailed iNkosi Mthethwa for his bold initiatives.

‘This is an indication that iNkosi Mthethwa is instrumental in clamping down on crime in his area, but sadly, the government is not meeting him halfway.’

Mchunu said the police station, which will be situated adjacent to the Dondotha clinic, will not only serve Dondotha, but the whole of KwaMthethwa area, which has 44 reserves and is the biggest traditional authority in Zululand.

Mayor responds

Meanwhile, uMfolozi Municipality Mayor, Cllr Simangaliso Mgenge, has denied they were deliberately delaying the construction of a police station in Dondotha.

‘The issue of building a police station, not only in Dondotha, but anywhere in the country, is an issue of the Police Ministry, not us.

‘Firstly, we don’t have the funds to build a police station. Ours as a local government sphere, is to ensure that our people have access to clean running water, roads, electricity and houses.

‘But there is no way we could stand in the way of such a project.

‘Secondly, I hope you are aware that RBM has allocated funding for the construction of police station in KwaSokhulu, but that project will only begin once we get a green light from the Ministry of Police.

‘The same applies to Dondotha. We have to get the authority from the government, whether national or provincial. But I can tell you that recently we had a major three-day event in Dondotha, with scores of people in attendance, but there was no crime reported,’ said Mgenge.