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2 June, 2017 Website: thebeat.linmedia.co.za
GOVERNMENT / POLITICAL
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Back to basics, say the police at Bela-Bela Justin Steyn Police officials from Bela-Bela met with their head office counterparts at the Bela-Bela police station on Wednesday, 24 May. The aim of the gathering was to liaise with local police officers and the community to address the challenges they face. The national police’s Corporate Communication Section Head, Brigadier Phillip Mokholwane, chaired the meeting. In his address, Mokholwane began by encouraging the local police and community to engage with one another on the issues they face. “The police service has a duty to fight crime. However, we cannot do this alone without the assistance from our local community. Assist us by being the eyes and ears of your community and approach us in such circumstances,” he said. Mokholwane added that it is not just the community’s responsibility to report problems, but that it is the responsibility of ward councillors to also serve as a voice for the community. “Not a single representative from the municipality has shown up for this meeting today. The community must report all crimes to their ward councillors, because I can assure you that many, if not all, of the councillors are not even aware of the challenges you face when it comes to crime,” he said. Mokholwane then gave the floor to representatives to raise their concerns. Hyman Cohan of the Waterberg Agricultural Union suggested that the police should also assist those who are involved in community neighbourhood watches as they are in direct communication with local government. “We would like to ask for assistance from the police. Local neighbourhood watches provide a service free of charge to the community and we would appreciate it if the police could assist and get a slight tax reduction due to us risking our lives to help
Officials of the national offices of the South African Police service visited the Bela-Bela police station in its bid to involve the community to fight crime. Photo: Justin Steyn the police,” he said. Cohan explained that the members often spend money and resources in order to assist in fighting crime. “It costs us petrol and manpower to conduct these patrols but our taxes remain the same. Some assistance from the police would be appreciated in this regard.” The Community Policing Forum in BelaBela’s chairperson, Stephen Maswanganye, said there seems to be concerns in the area of Tsakane. According to Maswanganye, the area’s residents are concerned about “white community watch members who are patrolling the area”. “It seems suspicious and sometimes causes raises racial tension when residents see cars patrolling and only white members are involved in these patrols. These are not my
words, but only reports that I have been given by residents in Tsakane,” Maswanganye was advised to raise this issue during the monthly rural safety meetings where he may be able to raise the issue with the members involved. Johan Mills of the Bela-Bela Tax payers’ forum said the local municipality must be held accountable for its absence from policing meetings. “Poverty is rife in the town which leads to crimes taking place. Thus far only the local traffic offices have shown up at our meetings and no representative from the municipality. They are responsible for the town’s financial upliftment and we must sit together and find innovative solutions to combat crime,” he said. Sammy Masole, a local pastor, said the
meeting should also have had more involvement from the local residents. “A meeting like this should also be held where the community can attend and have a voice. They are the main stakeholders and should be able to have their say,” he said. Mokholwane responded and said visits such as these will be conducted by the police more often. The station commander concluded the meeting by stating that the station is faced with major challenges and welcomes every person who would like to be active in the fight against crime. “Our station has about 24 detectives and only two vehicles available for them to use. This is just one of the many problems we have at the station and I welcome every person who wants to be active with us,” she said.