The Member of Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety has just completed a four-day community engagement initiative aimed at addressing safety concerns in various regions of Johannesburg. Cllr Mgcini Tshwaku (PhD) collaborated with his counterpart in Health and Social Development, MMC Ernie Makhafola, high-ranking Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) personnel, officials from the Disaster Management Directorate, Emergency Management Services (EMS) personnel, and regional ward councillors on the public consultation drive.
The engagement was intended to serve as a platform for listening to and engaging with the community about safety issues, as well as developing strategies to permanently resolve lingering issues.
“With the increase in criminal activity in Johannesburg, these engagements were necessary to strategise on plans and actions that needed to be taken in each region,” MMC Tshwaku explained.
In Orange Farm, Region G, residents complained about cable theft, a lack of streetlights, drug peddling in schools, and robberies. Cllr Tshwaku assured residents that criminal activity would not be tolerated in the City.
The inner-city and surrounding areas have been identified as hotspots for crimes such as drugs, hijacked buildings and house breakings, infrastructure vandalism, the mushrooming of taxi ranks, illegal foreigners, and illegal waste dumping.
Due to the dire situation and the outcry from residents of Johannesburg, MMC Tshwaku said he was committed to working with various Johannesburg communities to find long-lasting solutions.
“I am confident that the JMPD’s collaboration with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other law enforcement agencies will be an effective means of combating crime. Criminals will not be able to defeat us,” Cllr Tshwaku told the audience.
He believes successful crime prevention should be based on social programmes and physical improvements to the environment, with each area’s needs being unique.
The communities visited by the MMC raised common issues of allegations of corrupt police officers who contribute to the City’s crime-related challenges by protecting criminals while leaving law-abiding citizens vulnerable.
“Our police officers present a significant challenge. They know who sells drugs and where they are sold, but they refuse to arrest the suspects because they are corrupt and protect drug lords,” said a community member who did not want to be identified when residents met the MMC at the Metro Centre.
During the various engagements, it was discovered that drugs are terrorising the community because students are exposed to and experiment with them.
Residents of Region F also expressed their dissatisfaction with the issue of undocumented, illegal foreigners. Councillor Sihle Nguse proposed regulating immigration and holding an African Diaspora meeting as soon as possible.
“We cannot afford to have undocumented foreigners contributing to crime,” Cllr Nguse said.
MMC Tshwaku acknowledged that there is a lot of non-compliance with by-laws in Johannesburg’s inner-city, but said things were about to change because a “new sheriff in town” had arrived.
He promised to establish street patrollers in all wards and regions of the City to work alongside the JMPD and SAPS to combat the area’s crime scourge.
The MMC has promised to respond to all grievances raised during his public appearances by Thursday, March 30.
“There is no time for negotiations; there is only time for action that produces results,” he said.
MMC Tshwaku’s engagements were successful in that they provided a forum for the community to express their concerns while also allowing the MMC to gain insight into issues that directly affected them.
He described the #ManjeNamhlanje community engagement initiative as a significant step towards creating safer communities in Johannesburg.
Written by Dakalo Ramudidibi and Bongiwe Radebe
14/03/2023