Sanco stands up for community
According to regional officer Sechaba Mathenjwa, Sanco has been inundated with calls from community members and local businesses, including a number of shopping mall managers, pleading with the civic organisation to intervene in the escalating crime.
The regional executive office of Sanco has raised concerns about the growing crime rate in Kathorus and said the civic organisation is planning a community meeting that will involve relevant stakeholders who’ll discuss the issue before presenting it to the police.
“We will soon be calling all stakeholders, from civic bodies, community leaders and the business sector, to a discussion to highlight these concerns,” said Mathenjwa.
Mathenjwa told Kathorus MAIL that Sanco plans to take the grievances raised about the rampant lawlessness in their townships at the meeting further, to higher offices of SAPS management, to address the matter with the communities. Mathenjwa said his organisation has lost faith in the local police for their failure to deal decisively with crime and lawlessness in Kathorus.
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Last year, the civic body held two protest marches in Vosloorus, complaining about what they claimed was the local police’s inability to deal with crime in the township. On two occasions, Sanco led a community march to the police station demanding that Brig Themba Denge take action against what they claimed were serious crime issues in Vosloorus.
“This time we will be taking our grievances to the regional and provincial offices of the SAPS in order to get answers and clarity about why crime continues unabated in our townships,” Mathenjwa explained, citing the high crime rate as too much for the general public’s comfort.
The Sanco senior official said attempts to engage the local police in fighting crime have proved futile. He said Sanco is currently busy with community issues that the police are failing to resolve.
“Pensioners in Kathorus are constantly being forcefully evicted from their homes under fraudulent pretexts that often involve the police,” Mathenjwa pointed out.
Asked to explain his claim, he said: “Some of the eviction orders used are often fraudulent. The police rarely bother to verify this when they are approached to enforce an eviction. This, and other crime-related issues remain paramount in our list of complaints,” explained Mathenjwa.
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Asked for his comment, Denge told Kathorus MAIL his door is always open and he is willing to engage with Sanco on any issues.
“I invite Sanco to discuss any crime issues that they are not happy about with me,” said the Vosloorus police station commander.
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