THE provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has welcomed the delivery of 36 new vehicles from the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Thami Ntuli, which were delivered earlier today with the aim of bolstering safety and security throughout the festive season.

Mkhwanazi said the vehicles will come in handy in the fight against crime. He said, “These new vehicles will assist our officers to be able to reach more people faster. We will ensure that vehicles are used for official duties only and act against those who abuse them for personal gains. We are warning criminals that they must leave our citizens alone. Police will be out in numbers to ensure that those who want to celebrate, do so in a safe and secure environment.”

Ahead of the handover at the Archie Gumede Conference Centre in Mayville, Ntuli highlighted the need for government to have spent R14 million on the high-powered SAPS vehicles. He said that a rise in serious crimes during the 2023/2024 financial year, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, assault and sexual assault, moved the Department of Community Safety and Liaison to make the donation to the SAPS in KZN.

Also Read: Durban Metro Police join forces with SAPS for a safe festive season

The Premier said the department’s evaluation and monitoring to assess the functionality of all 184 police stations across the province pointed out a notable shortage of vehicles needed by law enforcement officers.

“The provincial executive council made a decision to assist SAPS by donating vehicles which will be distributed to identified police stations across the province to enhance law enforcement capacity. It is common knowledge that our government is operating under extreme austerity measures due to the financial constraints being faced by the entire country. However, we are grateful that the Provincial Government has been able to prioritise funds to make this donation and we believe it will go a long way to assist efforts to fight crime,” added Ntuli.

To further boost the province’s fight against crime, Ntuli announced that 656 new police constables will be deployed to various police stations across the province.

“They will report for duty this coming Friday, 20 December 2024. Also, 198 RTI officers and 467 authorised officers together with 124 constables, Metro Police officers, will be joining the ranks during the festive season,” said Ntuli.

For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here