Umbilo CPF committee elected
THERE was a good turnout to the Umbilo CPF Annual General Meeting on Tuesday night where a new executive committee was elected.
The AGM was a culmination of months of planning by the steering committee, which is dedicated to making this new CPF a success.
Col Gerald Mkhize, station commander at Umbilo SAPS, addressed the community present and thanked the steering committee for their hard work, and the community for their attendance, without which the formation of the CPF would not be possible.
“We have had problems with our past CPF which did not function properly and I thank the steering committee for making the effort to bring us to this point. The CPF is the link between the police and the community. Trust between the two parties is necessary to fight the common enemy, crime. I hope this new CPF makes an impact in the community and that there will be communication between the parties to not let crime stand in the way. We need to conquer crime in Umbilo,” he said.
TheMEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu, spoke as a resident of the area, saying he was pleased to be invited not only as the MEC, but as a resident, who would be positively affected by the functioning of the CPF in the area.
“I thank the steering committee which has travelled the journey to bring us here tonight. We all had the duty to inform one another of the AGM and the full hall shows that whatever structure emerges from this meeting will be strong and legitimate in terms of the constitution,” he said.
Mchunu spoke of the importance of the formation of voluntary associations, such as neighbourhood watches, in the area with members who weren’t part of the CPF but who had a mandate to work with the CPF, and not against it. He mentioned the formation of the Umbilo Crime Prevention Association which was formed by the department and would work with the police, as well as the Safer Cities group from eThekwini municipality, which works with the department. He said the municipality had a duty to assist residents in the ward.
“Ward committees have the duty to form street committees as well. We are under no illusion that the police themselves can defeat crime and we need these partnerships, which are complementary to the police. I plead with the Umbilo SAPS to work with this new CPF and other structures,” he said.
The voting took place thereafter, with Ben Madokwe, steering committee chair, being named the new Umbilo CPF chairman. Rob Hackenbruch is now the deputy chairperson, Anthony Alder is the secretary, Leonie Canham is the deputy secretary, Sifiso Zwane is the treasurer, Thabo Katikati is the public relations officer and additional members are Jean Maharaj, Tony Blaunfeldt and David Captain Hastibeer.
