Councillors in Alexandra have been chided for failing to attend meetings of the Community Policing Forum.
Tabling his report at a forum meeting, outgoing chairperson of the forum, Bulldog Rathokolo, said his former executive was dismayed by the councillors’ failure to attend forum meetings.
“They [councillors] have never attended a single meeting of the forum and even today they have not shown up with the exception of councillor [Chris] Mabunda,” said Rathokolo.
Alex Police Station commander Nhluvuko Zondi had also enquired where the councillors were.
Asked where his colleagues were, especially Ward councillor Joyce Ngwenya, Mabunda could not explain but said he was representing the Community Safety portfolio of the City of Johannesburg.
To matters of the meeting, Rathokolo attributed the rising crime in Alexandra to alcohol and drugs. “We have too many taverns and shebeens in our community, and some of these liquor outlets operate until very late. Something needs to be done to ensure they are properly regulated and that they close at a mutually agreed time between themselves and the forum.”
Rathokolo added that when his executive took over the running of the forum they were told by their predecessors that the forum had no money. “My instincts told me there was money,” he said.
Rathokolo claimed he had recovered R33 700 from the previous executive which, he alleged, had denied them access to the forum’s account. As a result, Rathokolo said they had opened a second account for the forum, and a report on this would be tabled at a later meeting.
