DA meets with Secunda Police on feedback of memorandum
A meeting was held on Thursday, July 21, with the police, who wanted to respond to the demands of the DA.
The DA marched all the way down PDP Kruger Street towards the Secunda Police Station to hand over a memorandum to Capt Marieta Wright asking police to take more action in drug dealings and activities happening in the Secunda area on June 18.
The march was supported and attended to by provincial DA chairperson Pali Palesa Mobango and federal youth leader Nicholas Nyati, who joined the march against the murderous prevalence of drugs in Secunda, and GMM communities.
“We handed a memorandum to the police, demanding the apprehension of all known dealers, the establishment of an anti-drug unit in the effort to clamp down on drug abuse and sale in our community,” said Ciska Jordaan, DA Mpumalanga deputy chairperson.
A meeting was held on Thursday, July 21, with the police, who wanted to respond to the demands of the DA, to establish an open relationship of communication about the issue and involve the DA as interested stakeholders in looking at solutions.
Some highlights were that it is apparent that the anti-drug units that the DA demand, are now combined with other smaller units under the DPCI (Hawks).
“As we know, they do investigate drug syndicates.
“It seems that red tape and court rulings create the delay in raiding drug houses and ensuring that dealers stay behind bars,” said Jordaan.
Users and drug-related transgressors are arrested as per a monthly target and there have been a number of arrests in this regard since January.
“There is a lack of action on the part of the council with regards to the adoption and enforcement of by-laws that could help the police take action against drug use and sales by hawkers, caravans, etc.
“Local religious institutions attempt to assist with drug rehabilitation in the Govan Mbeki area. Specifically, we learnt of the efforts of the Lighthouse Church and a rehab centre in Evander which follows a detox programme and attempts to assist addicts to find their feet afterwards,” said Jordaan
She explained these are private institutions that rely on sponsorship and donations and are not assisted by the government and that there are daily patrols taking place in drug “hotspots” that are of concern.
An ongoing community engagement is necessary, especially where community organisations such as taxi associations might assist in curbing drug prevalence where they operate
In light of this, the DA has requested:
• A dedicated line or contact person to whom drug-related crime tip-offs can be given. Since the march, many community members have come forward with information and we would like to continue encouraging the community to approach SAPS.
• An enhanced effort to apprehend drug syndicates, as the root cause of this issue holding our towns hostage
• An additional focus on the vicinities of some primary schools to address the presence of drug dealers on the streets
“Most of the above are matters that we can try to assist with in some way or another.
“We have resolved to start making work of addressing these matters and are committed to continuing working together with the police, local community organisations and community policing forums.
“It cannot be accepted that the police report of the courts failing us and the municipality simply not coming to the table in terms of its duty to adopt and have legislation gazetted and establish rehab centres – or in the very least, assist local rehab centres in some way,” concluded Jordaan.
