The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Mpumalanga chairperson, Collen Sedibe, told the party members that criminals have taken over the country’s streets during the government’s watch.

Sedibe said this during the EFF Mpumalanga Woman’s Day celebration that was held at House of Praise church in eMbalenhle on August 9.

He told members to begin neighbourhood watch programmes because the government is incapable of fighting crime and only protecting itself.

“We celebrate Woman’s Day while our women are kidnapped, raped and killed every day.

“Our communities must protect themselves and begin to fight against the gender-based violence demon.

“Our party doesn’t have a space and membership for abusers and fathers who do not maintain their children.

“Those fathers also contribute to problems that our society is facing.

“Some of those children end up living on the streets, using drugs and doing crime to feed their addiction,” said Sedibe.

Sedibe said rape suspects are not prosecuted because the DNA tests take too long from the laboratory.

He said there is nothing the justice department can do if the police fail to bring substantial evidence to prosecute rapists.

“The country is depending on one DNA laboratory centre facility in Pretoria in which all provinces are queuing.

“We noticed that some results come only after a year or two which resulted in the perpetrators not being jailed for what they did, our court cannot keep them in holding cells while it is unclear when the DNA results will be released from the lab.

“We need to fight for each province to have its own DNA laboratory to make our justice system more efficient,” said Sedibe.