I recently witnessed two drug transactions taking place within one hour in North Rand Road, Boksburg. This transaction did not take place in secret, but in the open on a Sunday morning. Both transactions took place in the exact same manner – the buyers parked their vehicles in the sleeve next to Medicross where they met the drug dealer and exchanged the money for drugs through the front window in a matter of seconds.
However, this is not a new occurrence in North Rand Road. I have reported this spot to the Ekurhuleni Metro Police and Boksburg North SAPS on numerous occasions over a number of years.
Last year May, DA Boksburg Constituency Head Janet Semple MPL and I led an anti-drug march to the Boksburg North SAPS. We presented a memorandum to Boksburg North SAPS spokesperson Lieutenant Juanita Coetzer outlining our proposals to fight drugs in the area.
However, by September 2015 it was revealed in a written response from Gauteng MEC for Community Safety Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane that the Boksburg North SAPS claims to have never received our memorandum (we have the photo and news coverage to prove otherwise). It was further revealed that the police station has failed to conduct any operations focused on combating drug abuse and trafficking since we presented our memorandum to the station between.
It is clear that another four months later, nothing is being done.
The fact that drug dealers in Boksburg feel comfortable enough to openly conduct their transactions indicates the lack of visible policing and failure by the Boksburg SAPS to fight drugs and trafficking in the area.
The SAPS is mandated to prevent and combat crime in communities. The Boksburg North Police Station’s failure to conduct any drug operations or to act on our memorandum shows that they don’t care about the safety and wellbeing of residents in the area.
The failure of the Boksburg North SAPS and Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department also extends to a failure by national government to reinstate specialised drugs units. I have corresponded with MEC Nkosi-Malobane on numerous occasions requesting her intervention in this matter. Unfortunately she continuously responds by saying she is in the process of taking up this matter with national Minister of Police Nkosinathi Nhleko – which has resulted in nothing being done to date.
I will be writing to MEC Nkosi-Malobane and request a report on how many operations the Boksburg North SAPS has done since receiving our memorandum, how many arrests have been made and how many led to convictions.
We need dedicated and well-resourced specialised units that can investigate and secure convictions of drug dealers to ensure they are taken off our streets. This is the only way we will tackle the scourge of drugs plaguing our communities.
Media enquiries:
Michele Clarke MPL
DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Community Safety
060 558 8309
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