The Tzaneen Safety Forum had their first meeting last Wednesday at the Tzaneen Show Grounds.
The purpose of the forum was discussed and committee members from different sections of the Tzaneen Policing area were elected.
Uwe Kroh led the discussions.
“The forum does not replace the Mopani Safety Forum, but rather creates a space where community members from Tzaneen can voice their concerns,” Kroh explained.
He also mentioned that the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson would then go to the Mopani Security Forum to represent the interests of the Tzaneen Safety Forum.
Kroh also mentioned that another reason for the Forum is to get the community to work together with the police to ensure that Tzaneen is well protected and ready for any crime incident.
READ: Join the fight against crime in Tzaneen
Also present at the meeting was Colonel David Makhubele who was there as a representative of the Tzaneen SAPS.
“It brings me great joy to see everyone who attended this forum meeting. I can say that together we’ll be able to do great things,” said Colonel Makhubele.
“This forum helps when the pawpaw strikes the fan, we will know what every area is going to do about it.
It’s like a preventative measure to protect the Tzaneen community,” Kroh further explained.
He also stated that having an active forum would help strengthen communication and interactions across all sectors involved.
The forum also raised an important point that when crime happens, like fruit theft for an example, it should always be reported to the police and have a case opened, even if it is theft of only one fruit.
It was also added that the police won’t be able to see that there is a problem if they don’t have all the information.
Kroh also mentioned that if you send in a complaint to the Community Police Forum, to please write it down and give the name of the person you consulted with.
This would help the forum to assist them in helping community members when not getting sufficient service from the SAPS .
The Tzaneen Safety Forum urges community members to attend the next forum meeting as the forum was created to help the community at large and not just a select few.
“If people can see the positive impact of this, then the group will eventually grow,” concluded Kroh.
The committee members are: Chairperson, Pieter Venter; Deputy chairperson, Shaun Potgieter; Secretary, Richard Bouwer; Deputy Secretary, Marietjie Bouwer; PRO, Pieter Gouws and then the chairpersons from each sector’s community forum will serve as additional members in the committee.
