Decrease in crime, but drugs remain a problem

Date: 04 March 2017 By: Anton van Zyl

Incidents of crime being reported over the past three months seem to have decreased slightly, but the problem of drugs is an aspect that needs to be addressed urgently, said Lt-Col Nelson Tshililo during the monthly meeting of the Makhado Sector Crime Forum on Thursday, 23 February.

“The consequence of drugs is that our youth won’t have a future,” said Col Tshililo, who represented the Makhado SAPS. He highlighted the problem with law enforcement where suspects get arrested but are released a short while later because the justice department seems to regard such drug-related offences as less serious.

Tshililo reported back on the activities of the SAPS branches over the festive season and said that burglaries remained a problem. “We believe that there is a market for the stolen goods and this needs to be closed as well,” said Tshililo. He made an appeal to communities to join hands with the police to identify problems and address these.

The chairperson of the Sector Crime Forum, Mr Dirk Meisenheimer, once again complained about the lack of involvement by the different role players in the community. In spite of repeated invitations, the representatives of stakeholders such as the local municipalities, the Department of Home Affairs, Correctional Services, the Chambers of Commerce and even the Pastors' Forum did not attend Thursday’s meeting. He said that especially the representatives of the different ward committees should be encouraged to attend these meetings.

One of the first issues discussed, was the work done to increase safety on the N1. The forum members expressed their appreciation towards SANRAL’s contractor for erecting barriers and lights. The roads are also properly marked with information signs, making it much easier to report where accidents occur.

A project where the progress seems to be frustratingly slow, is the surveillance camera project. Mr Meissenheimer reported back that they had had a meeting with the mayor of Makhado and requested funds for the project. The business sector in town also indicated that they would support the project, but at this stage, not much is happening.

Another of the problems previously identified that still needs a solution is the lack of accommodation for illegal immigrants while these people are waiting for the law to take its course. The problem seems to be with mothers and babies who get arrested but then cannot be accommodated while waiting for the gears of justice to start moving. It was agreed that this is not necessarily a policing problem, but the forum still needs to engage with role players to try and find a solution for the problem.

Some of the other problems discussed during the forum meeting were the illegal trade in areas such as Makhado Park and the open areas in the Padkamp that are not properly maintained. The consensus was that the communities must not only complain but assist in addressing the problems.

The forum’s next meeting will take place on 16 March at the police’s local conference hall.

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Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

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