Serious crime increases in Ekurhuleni, despite Lesufi declaring crime fighting an ‘elevated priority’

Note to all editors: Please find attached soundbite by Ruhan Robinson MPL

Despite considerable progress in some categories of crime, the Democratic Alliance (DA) remains concerned about the unacceptably high level of crime in the City of Ekurhuleni, especially considering Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s repeated declaration to make crime fighting an “elevated priority” in Gauteng.

Tembisa South Police Station continues to lead as the crime capital of Ekurhuleni, recording a 216.7% increase in murder year-on-year and ranking 23rd in South Africa. The number of attempted murders at this police station has also increased by 125%. Sexual assault, a crime primarily perpetrated against women, surged by 100%, despite lower rates recorded provincially.

Although the number of assaults with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm is low, it is concerning that five Ekurhuleni police stations, including Ivory Park, Tembisa, Etwatwa, Tsakane, and Daveyton, remain among the top ten in the province for this crime category.

Other key crime statistics that saw significant increases in Ekurhuleni include:

• Murder: 50% increase at Katlehong.
• Attempted murder: 65% increase at Ivory Park.
• Attempted murder: 52.4% increase at Katlehong.
• Attempted murder: 123.1% increase at Etwatwa.
• Attempted murder: 200% increase at Dawn Park.
• Attempted murder: 75% increase at Edenpark.
• Rape: 56.3% increase at Edenpark.
• Carjacking: 75% increase at Tembisa.
• Carjacking: 100% increase at Boksburg North.
• Carjacking: 78.9% increase at Alberton.

Overall, some crime levels in Ekurhuleni have shown a slight decrease; however, carjacking and residential robberies have increased by 17% and 16%, respectively. The increase in both statistics is significantly greater than the increase in the provincial statistics.

These statistics do not paint a picture of a provincial government that has prioritised fighting crime, but one that has lost the fight against crime. They also do not inspire confidence but demonstrate the lack of a clear, bold, and comprehensive plan to regain control of our streets and rebuild a Gauteng where people feel safe and secure.

A DA government would implement a three-pronged strategy for crime fighting in Gauteng that includes crime prevention, law enforcement, and victim support. There would be a greater emphasis placed on crime prevention, specifically. This would include increasing natural surveillance, surveillance technology, and police visibility. The time for the DA to put these plans into action and rescue Gauteng residents from a government incapable of safeguarding them is not far off but fast approaching with every passing moment.

Serious crimes on the rise in Ekurhuleni, despite Lesufi’s crime wardens

While Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, announced that 10 of the 17 crime categories have seen reductions in their reporting in the second quarter crime statistics, the Democratic Alliance (DA) remains concerned about the state of crime in Ekurhuleni.

Murder in Ekurhuleni has increased by 12.1%, with 500 people being murdered in the city between July and September this year, up from 446 in the same period in 2022.

A number of police stations also recorded a substantial increase in crime during the same period. Primrose Police Station is leading with a 290% increase in murders and is rated the fourth highest in the province in murder cases. Tembisa South also increased by 80% in murders. At least 11 Ekurhuleni police stations are in the top 40 stations for murder in the province.

Other crimes that have increased in this period in Ekurhuleni include:

• Attempted murder: 7% increase
• Assault with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH): 0.5% increase.
• Robbery at residential properties: 28.5% increase
• Cash in transit: 100% increase
• Motor vehicle theft: 2.6% increase

Crime continues to increase despite the crime-fighting wardens being granted nearly R1.5 billion to combat crime in the province. The DA has observed these same wardens in Crystal Park Police Station, acting as commissioners of oath. This does not amount to combating crime, and the DA will continue to hold Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to account for wasting scarce resources on an unproductive programme to combat crime in the province.

The DA remains adamant that crime statistics, not the number of operations carried out, should be the only indicator of whether the crime strategy in Gauteng is effective. We will continue to fight for Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, and the Premier to account for the department’s failure to bring about meaningful reductions in crime statistics across the province and Ekurhuleni.

Motorists at risk as Gauteng Traffic Police still not a 24-hour service, despite funds being allocated

The Gauteng Traffic Police have not been declared an essential service to provide 24-hour monitoring of Gauteng roads and ensure the safety of road users, despite funds being allocated in the previous financial year.

The Gauteng Traffic Police are critical in reducing the number of car hijackings and robberies on our busiest roads, such as N1 and N3, where spike strips are being used.

This means that the lives of motorists and road users are in danger because there is no monitoring of Gauteng roads at night, as the Gauteng Traffic Police does not operate 24 hours a day.

The service of the police is critical to ensure the safety of motorists and reduce the number of car hijackings and robberies on our busiest roads such as N1 and N3 where spike strips are being used.

In the 2022/2023 financial year, a budget was allocated to ensure that the Gauteng Traffic Police are declared an essential service to ensure 24-hour monitoring of our roads. However, to date, they have not been declared an essential service.

The Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, has stated that there are ongoing discussions with the organised labour, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), and the Provincial Traffic Management to finalise the issue.

Unnecessary delays in finalising this matter are negatively affecting motorists and the police, who would benefit from the Gauteng Traffic Police being declared as an essential service. It will assist in improving working conditions, increase benefits for the police, and ensure the safety of road users.

The DA has already tabled questions to MEC Mazibuko in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain the cause of the delays in declaring the Gauteng Traffic Police an essential service. We want to know what happened to the allocated budget, how much was allocated, the progress of the ongoing discussions, and when the decision will be made to declare them an essential service.

Gauteng residents continue to live in fear as Lesufi’s crime prevention wardens fail to deliver

Gauteng residents continue to fear for their lives and belongings as Gauteng police stations dominate the top 30 nationally in attempted murder, sexual offences, rape, common assault, and robbery. This is despite the Gauteng Premier spending millions of rands on crime prevention wardens meant to fight crime and ensure the safety of residents.

Robbery at the residential premises has increased by 248 from 1810 in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year to 2058 in the first quarter of the 2023/ 24 financial year. Robbery at non-residential premises has also increased by 28 from 1588 in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year to 1616 in the first quarter under review. Kidnapping has also increased by 159 from 1909 in the previous first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year to 2068 in the first quarter under review.

The crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year indicate that Lesufi’s crime prevention wardens are an electioneering ploy and not a serious attempt to curb crime despite millions spent on it.

Furthermore, the Gauteng crime prevention wardens did not meet their target of 23 826 crime prevention operations, as only 5066 operations were conducted. The department claims that challenges with resources and tools of the trade resulted in wardens not meeting their crime prevention operation targets. This information was revealed in the Gauteng Department of Community Safety’s First Quarter Report for the 2023/24 financial year.

This indicates a lack of planning from the Premier and the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety on this programme as they fail to meet set targets, and the crime prevention wardens are ill-equipped.

The DA has been demanding budget details and expected outcomes from this programme. To date, nothing has been communicated. This is worrisome, as crime is increasing in the province, yet the crime prevention wardens are failing to meet targets. This raises questions about the role of crime prevention wardens in assisting the police in fighting crime.

The DA will table questions to MEC Mazibuko in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain what happened to monies allocated to resource the crime prevention wardens to fight crime. We also want to know what measures will be taken to address these challenges and ensure they achieve their set targets.

Gauteng residents in danger as crime increases under Premier Lesufi’s watch

The safety of Gauteng residents remains at risk as crime continues to increase. The recently released crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2023/24 financial year have revealed a staggering increase in crime between April and June.

Today, the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, indicated that Gauteng had 27 murders, 146 rapes, 41 attempted murders, 37 sex assaults, 1785 assaults with intent to inflict harm, 4883 common assaults, 61 common robberies, and 12 robberies with aggravating circumstances in the selected domestic violence related crimes in this period.

The murder statistics include 12 members of the police force who were murdered, compared to four murdered in the same period last year.

According to Minister Cele, some causative factors that resulted in the killings included provocation, misunderstandings, circumstances on duty for officers, road rage, rape, revenge, and punishment.

This is extremely worrisome and raises questions about the role of community safety wardens in assisting the police in fighting crime. The crime stats clearly indicate that our communities are suffering because Gauteng stations still dominate the top 30 police stations affected by crime nationally.

Crime statistics that show the deteriorating state of safety in Gauteng include the following:
• Contact crimes reported are 42752 — an increase of 6% compared to last year,
• Community-reported crime increased by 4% compared to last year,
• Attempted murder cases total 1537, an increase of 7.2% compared to last year,
• Rape only increased by 0.1% and stands at 1910,
• Robbery in residential premises is 2058, with an increase of 13.7% compared to last year’s cases,
• Kidnapping reported cases are 90, an increase of 46 cases compared to last year.

Furthermore, the safety of our children is under siege, as 17 cases of rape occurred on educational premises.

For far too long, the DA has been demanding that the Gauteng MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane, implement a proper safety strategy to ensure the safety of learners and teachers in schools across the province. However, to date, this has not happened.

Furthermore, we demand to know the exact work the Gauteng community safety wardens do, as there has been no significant increase in crime statistics.

The DA will continue to put pressure on the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, to ensure that the community wardens are actively curbing crime in hotspot areas in the province.

DA to hand over donations to families of the victims of Boksburg gas tragedy

Today, Friday, 21 July 2023, the Official Leader of the Opposition in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga MPL, the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, Crezane Bosch MPL, the DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Community Safety, Ruhan Robison MPL, the DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nico De Jager MPL, and the DA Ward 21 PR Councillor, Cllr Alta De Beer, will hand over money and food to the families of the victims of the nitrate oxide gas leak at the Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg.

Two weeks ago, 17 people died, and more than 16 were injured due to a nitrate oxide leak from a gas cylinder used by illegal miners to clean gold dust.

The DA, in partnership with a donor, will assist the victims’ families in repatriating the bodies of the deceased to their respective countries in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

The victims’ families are in desperate need of financial assistance to transport their deceased family members to their countries for dignified burials.

The DA will continue to engage with the Mozambique Consul General to assist the families of the victims.

The media is invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.
Details of the oversight visit are as follows:
Date: 21 July 2023
Time: 09:00 am
Address: Angelo Informal Settlement, Boksburg, Johannesburg East.

DA to visit families of victims of the Boksburg gas leak tragedy

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 11 July 2023, the Official Leader of the Opposition in Gauteng, Solly Msimanga MPL, the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, Crezane Bosch MPL, the DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Community Safety, Ruhan Robinson MPL, the DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nico De Jager MPL, the DA Germiston Constituency Head, Michele Clarke MP, and the DA Ward 21 PR Councillor, Cllr Alta De Beer will visit the families of the victims of the gas leak at Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg.

Last week, 17 people died, and more than 16 were injured due to a nitrate oxide leak from a gas cylinder used by illegal miners to clean gold dust.

The DA will visit the victims’ families to share our heartfelt condolences. We will also engage with the surviving victims and the community to establish the challenges brought by illegal miners in the community.

We will also assess whether there is police visibility in the area, and we The DA will continue to demand a workable strategy from the Gauteng Provincial Government to deal with illegal mining in the province.

The media is invited, and there will be an opportunity for interviews and photographs.

Details of the oversight visit are as follows:

Date: 11 July 2023
Time: 08:00 am
Address: Angelo Informal Settlement, Boksburg, Johannesburg East.

17 Boksburg residents die due to the Gauteng government’s failure to act against illegal miners

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is shocked and saddened by the tragic deaths of 17 residents following a gas leak at Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg last night. At least 16 people have also been admitted to the hospital.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those in the hospital.

It is alleged that nitrate oxide leaked from a gas cylinder used by illegal miners (Zama Zama’s) to clean gold dust in the community.

The Gauteng Department of Community Safety and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) are to blame for this tragedy due to their failure to address illegal mining in the province.

Gas usage by non-compliant individuals is a danger to communities through highly flammable leaks, ignition sources, and improper handling, which may lead to explosions.

In environments where handlers comply with the law, regular maintenance is conducted, and there is proper ventilation and a gas detector which are crucial to avoid casualties.

However, the above is impossible with illegal miners who obstruct the law for their own financial benefit.

For far too long, the DA has been demanding that the Gauteng government implement a strategy to deal with illegal miners. However, this has fallen on deaf ears, and there is not enough policing in mining communities due to ill-equipped police stations.

We demand that the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, and the Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, act against illegal miners in the province.

Illegal miners harm not only Gauteng residents; but themselves as this illicit activity kills hundreds of them.

The DA will further write to MEC Mazibuko to ascertain whether there is a strategy to deal with illegal miners and when it will be implemented.

 

R72 million spent on ill-equipped safety wardens

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has spent R72 million on safety wardens’ stipends alone for three months. This indicates that his crime-busting unit has more financial implications than rewards for Gauteng residents.

Over the medium term, an estimated R4 billion will be spent on warden’s salaries and resources such as drones and other crime-fighting equipment.

Should this programme fail to deliver on its core mandate of fighting crime, it will be a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The DA has tabled questions to the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety and Security, Faith Mazibuko, demanding clarity on the budgetary aspects of the programme, the expected outcomes, the training given to the patrollers and where they will be placed.

The MEC seems equally in the dark, as to date, she has not been able to respond to the questions posed in February 2023.

This demonstrates an element of poor planning from the Premier and the MEC on this programme, as budgetary details and expected outcomes cannot be succinctly communicated.

This raises questions on whether due processes, such as gun competency training and national legislation, were followed.

The scant details of the programme and the rapidity at which Premier Lesufi launched the programme show that it is an election ploy than a well-thought-out crime prevention plan.

The DA will continue to monitor the programme and probe irregularities in how things are being done.

Health and safety risk at the Pretoria East warden training site needs urgent intervention

Trainees at the Castle Inn Resort in Pretoria East are exposed to terrible conditions which compromise their well-being.

Various whistleblowers have reliably informed the DA that the conditions to which trainee wardens are subjected are unacceptable and inhumane.

It is alleged that the aspirant wardens have been subjected to a lack of balanced diet meals, no ablution facilities and trainees are left to sleep outside.

When the DA visited the site, we witnessed mobile toilets being set up though training has been ongoing for four weeks.

This raises questions about what the trainees have been using up to that point and what conditions they have been subjected to for the first part of the training since the start of February.

The DA has further seen photos of chicken and other meat intended for catering purposes left outside in the sun on steel tables for days on end before being used. Again, this is a health risk, as trainees can be subjected to food poisoning.

It remains unclear if the project was budgeted for or how this tender was awarded and advertised, as the budget available is not sufficient to cover the costs of this project.

If the Department of Community Safety and Security intends to mushroom training facilities across the province, it should plan properly and prepare to accommodate aspirant officials.

The lack of attention to health and nutrition regulations can put the lives of trainees at risk and is a violation of their human dignity.

The DA has submitted questions to Gauteng MEC of Community Safety and Security, Faith Mazibuko, to find out whether the correct procurement procedures were followed when this tender was awarded and if the department does regular inspections of training sites.

We will also be submitting additional questions about the credibility of the service providers and if they comply with the various regulations. If this is proven not to be the case, then the DA will write to the treasury for them to be blacklisted.

Community Safety Wardens are supposed to be trained to provide much-needed additional security to our communities. The current conditions impact their dignity negatively and do not nurture the much-needed pride and passion required from these wardens.