ActionSA Welcomes Police Minister’s Intervention in Lawless Inner Cities in Ekurhuleni
Siyanda Makhubo
ActionSA Ekurhuleni Caucus Leader
Yesterday, I joined the Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu and Mayor Xhakaza for a joint operation in the Germiston CBD targeting lawlessness and hijacked buildings. This operation signalled the beginning of a signed Cooperation Agreement between the City and the SAPS that will focus on targeted interventions to combat lawlessness in our city.
As ActionSA, we have taken a position of being a constructive opposition in Ekurhuleni and will continue to support efforts that speak to our manifesto priorities, which include retaking hijacked buildings, putting South Africans first above undocumented migrants and prioritising insourcing. Therefore, any efforts to curb lawlessness in our inner cities, especially around Germiston which is one of the worst hit, will be welcomed and supported by our caucus.
We welcome the Minister’s proactive stance against lawlessness in Ekurhuleni, whose statement clearly outlined how crime is skyrocketing in our city, with Thembisa and Ivory Park police stations being in the top 30 of contact crime stations. Stations included in the Provincial top 40 High Crime stations are: Tembisa (8), Ivory Park (13), Tsakane (35) and Kempton Park (12).
Minister Mchunu’s statement also spoke about how 29 victims of human trafficking were rescued in an operation in September. This is unsurprising, as just last year in September 2023, 100 undocumented migrants were rescued from a single house in Primrose.
While we welcome the minister’s efforts, we urge him and Mayor Xhakaza to make these raids more than flash in the pan media campaigns. SAPS has been woefully unhelpful in combating lawlessness in our inner cities, leaving this work largely to our local EMPD who does not have the resources necessary to make meaningful change.
ActionSA Welcomes Police Minister’s Intervention in Lawless Inner Cities in Ekurhuleni
Yesterday, I joined the Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu and Mayor Xhakaza for a joint operation in the Germiston CBD targeting lawlessness and hijacked buildings. This operation signalled the beginning of a signed Cooperation Agreement between the City and the SAPS that will focus on targeted interventions to combat lawlessness in our city.
As ActionSA, we have taken a position of being a constructive opposition in Ekurhuleni and will continue to support efforts that speak to our manifesto priorities, which include retaking hijacked buildings, putting South Africans first above undocumented migrants and prioritising insourcing. Therefore, any efforts to curb lawlessness in our inner cities, especially around Germiston which is one of the worst hit, will be welcomed and supported by our caucus.
We welcome the Minister’s proactive stance against lawlessness in Ekurhuleni, whose statement clearly outlined how crime is skyrocketing in our city, with Thembisa and Ivory Park police stations being in the top 30 of contact crime stations. Stations included in the Provincial top 40 High Crime stations are: Tembisa (8), Ivory Park (13), Tsakane (35) and Kempton Park (12).
Minister Mchunu’s statement also spoke about how 29 victims of human trafficking were rescued in an operation in September. This is unsurprising, as just last year in September 2023, 100 undocumented migrants were rescued from a single house in Primrose.
While we welcome the minister’s efforts, we urge him and Mayor Xhakaza to make these raids more than flash in the pan media campaigns. SAPS has been woefully unhelpful in combating lawlessness in our inner cities, leaving this work largely to our local EMPD who does not have the resources necessary to make meaningful change.