Durban – With the release of KwaZulu-Natal’s crime statistics imminent, the DA has expressed its concern over the spending of millions of rand but there have been no results to combat crime.
DA KZN spokesperson on community safety and liaison Sharon Hoosen said that the Department of Community Safety and Liaison under MEC Sipho Hlomuka was still unable to contain the crime wave sweeping through KZN despite a budget of R250 million.
“The DA is extremely concerned about the current situation, as there is scarcely a day that goes by without hearing of yet another serious priority crime taking place,” Hoosen said.
She issued a statement after 10 people were burned to death in a house by a gang of armed suspects in Taylors Halt, Pietermaritzburg over the weekend.
It was also a day after provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi led a team of his management and handed over 188 new vehicles to police stations and units at Truro Hall in Pietermaritzburg.
The vehicles included mobile community service centres, tow trucks and motorbikes. The vehicles are to be used to fight crime and capacitate operational endeavours to keep criminals at bay to maintain peace, stability, and law and order in KZN.
Hoosen said that there is no relief for KZN citizens who are living in fear.
She said that despite the dismal statistics, KZN’s ANC-run Department of Community Safety and Liaison continues to spend millions of taxpayers’ money with no results, which is criminal in itself.
“The question is, where is the money going? It is time that the MEC accounted to the people and KZN’s community safety portfolio committee,” Hoosen said.
She said that this must include the following:
- A detailed plan around the R160 million allocated to fighting crime earlier this year.
- A breakdown of the R65 million allocated to Safety Promotion. This includes the Volunteer Social Crime Prevention Project – a key performance indicator for community-focused interventions and community training programmes.
- An update on the R17 million for monitoring to ensure the effectiveness of community safety structures.
- Details around the R3 million allocated to Community Police Relations.
“The war against crime is real in KZN. SAPS must ensure that money allocated to crime-fighting is spent where it matters. It must also tap into all available resources, including crime intelligence so that crime can be stopped before it is committed. Community policing forums and the social volunteer programme must also step up and take on the fight,” Hoosen said.
She said that the DA has long maintained that Hlomuka is in his position as a result of cadre deployment rather than his ability to turn around this critical department.
“What we are witnessing is clear evidence of politics being placed before the people, with the ANC’s so-called Taliban faction calling the shots despite the MEC’s failure to lead,” Hoosen said.
She added that last week, the DA called on the KZN community safety and liaison portfolio committee chairperson to request a full report from law enforcement. We await his response.
“With KZN’s crime statistics provisionally scheduled for release on Friday, the DA does not anticipate any improvement. We remain committed to fighting for the right of our province’s people to live in safety,” Hoosen said.
When Hlomuka delivered his R250m budget last month, he said: “This policy speech is very important as we strive to make significant inroads in our efforts to curb the high levels of crime in our society. We present this budget speech under the theme, ‘Leaving no one behind in our journey of building a crime-free province’.”
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