Durban - As the Glebelands Hostel in Umlazi continues to be plagued by violence, the eThekwini Municipality is busy installing crime prevention measures at one of the city’s most notorious residential facilities.
But the city has failed to meet a June timeframe to implement all the measures, and now the province is demanding that these are completed before the end of the month.
It is believed about 20 people have been gunned down in sporadic attacks since early last year and that the killings were due to a fight over the availability of beds.
There are reports of groups demanding residents pay protection fees, and that those who failed to comply, like Thadayiphi “Chaka” Cwele, who was murdered recently, were targeted over this.
Late last week the municipality said it had installed closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras at the hostel.
“To supplement crime measures by the police, the municipality has installed five CCTV cameras as phase one of the safety plan and those cameras are monitored at the Disaster Management Centre.
“The municipality will install more before the end of the year,” said municipal spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa.
But, she said, due to slow tender processes, the fencing, which should also have been done, had been delayed. The awarding of the tender had been postponed as none of the companies which applied had met the specifications.
“The process had to start afresh and the Bid Adjudication Committee is meeting next week, where a decision will be taken. Then there will be an appeal process and, if there are no appeals, the new fence will be installed,” she said.
Cwele’s murder followed that of Nhlo Sigwebela, who was killed on Monday, July 27, after he questioned the collection of protection fees.
Mthethwa said there were 300 “highly trained” members of the Metro Police Crowd Management Unit deployed at the hostel to assist SAPS members.
“As an additional safety measure, high mast lights have also been installed in between buildings. All street lights that were not functioning have been fixed and additional street lights have been installed.”
But there were still outstanding security measures the provincial government leaders and city had agreed on early this year.
KwaZulu-Natal Community Safety and Liaison portfolio committee chairman Bheki Ntuli said after a visit to the hostel in February, that he, Premier Senzo Mchunu, Safety and Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu and city mayor James Nxumalo had made recommendations to tighten security.
“Those things have not been implemented by the municipality by the June deadline. We want all of them to be in place before the end of August,” he said. The municipality had set aside a budget to employ a private security company to be at the facility 24 hours a day assisting police.
“The guards should register everyone visiting the hostel so it would be known who is visiting whom,” he said.
Ntuli said those behind the murders were hostel residents. “We need to vacate everyone from the hostel, relocate them somewhere, and later reallocate only those who are registered to be there back to the facility… the fight was over the allocation of beds.”
Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni said she was optimistic police were winning the fight against crime at the hostel.
Five security measures the provincial government has recommended the municipality take to deal with the violence at Glebelands hostel are:
* Install floodlights to ensure the area is well-lit.
* A private security company to be appointed and stationed at the hostel 24 hours a day.
* There should be a gate to control access to the facility.
* Legitimate residents should have access cards.
* Only legitimate residents should be allowed to live in the facility.
The Mercury