Safety of Ekurhuleni residents under siege as murder, sexual offences and hijackings increases

The lives and livelihoods of the residents of the City of Ekurhuleni are at high risk following the recently released crime statistics by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned that Ekurhuleni police stations had the most reported cases in these increased crimes nationally; specifically with regards to violent crime, including murder (13.6%), sexual offences (11%), attempted murder (19.4%) and truck hijackings (36.8%.).

Most crimes in South Africa like murder, violent crimes, sexual offences, attempted murder, and hijacking have bounced back to and exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels.

However, Gauteng SAPS has been losing ground in the battle against crime, as the lackluster leadership of the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and Minister of Police, Bheki Cele continues.

The sharp upward trajectory in crime shows a clear indication that police stations still have a mammoth task of combatting crime on their hands. The list below shows the police stations that reported most a crime nationally:

• Tembisa ranking 4th for contact crimes,
• Tsakane and Tembisa ranking 10th and 12th for rape,
• Tembisa and Springs ranking 3rd and 17th for Trio crimes,
• Tembisa and Germiston ranking 11th and 29th for carjacking,
• Tembisa and Springs ranking 4th and 14th for robbery at residential premises,
• Brakpan, Kempton Park, Springs, Germiston, and Boksburg North are on the top 30 for robbery at non-residential premises,
• Boksburg North, Kempton Park, Alberton, Bedfordview, Germiston and Boksburg ranked in the top 30 in South Africa for truck hijacking,
• Tembisa, Boksburg North, Kempton Park, and Germiston in top 30 for kidnapping,
• Benoni and Kempton Park 28th and 29th for property-related crimes.

Tembisa, Springs, Kempton Park, Germiston, and Boksburg North are some of the police stations that have come up a number of times for all the wrong reasons.

During the #DAGautengPoliceWatch campaign, the DA observed shortages of personnel, training, and vehicles at many of Ekurhuleni’s hardest-hit stations.

It is of the utmost importance that SAPS has all the means at its disposal to combat crime, particularly in these areas that are hardest hit.

The DA demands that MEC Mazibuko must urgently intensify all efforts to deal with the high levels of crime facing the residents of Ekurhuleni. We will continue to fight to ensure that all our police stations across the province are adequately equipped to ensure the safety of our residents.

DA calls for implementation of sexual abuse hotline not to be delayed

As we start the new school year, the DA in Gauteng hopes that every learner is afforded the opportunity to learn in a safe environment.

Last year Gauteng Premier, David Makhura established a special committee to look into the safety of learners at schools.

But this was only done after it came to light that about 87 learners were sexually abused by scholar patrollers at their school.

The fact that the Department of Education reacted, after the sexual abuse claims were made public, indicates that the ANC is reactive rather than proactive and does not care about the safety of our children.

The Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi indicated that they will look into establishing a dedicated hotline, only once the special committee has completed their work.

To date, we have not had any feedback on the progress that this special committee has made into putting measures in place to ensure the safety of our learners.

Regular updates on the work of the special committee is important, as this will show that ANC-led government in Gauteng is committed towards creating a safe school environment.

We will continue to push for updates on the work of this special committee, as a dedicated hotline for learners to report sexual abuse must be established urgently.

Sexual abuse claims in schools have been kept hidden by teachers and education officials under the ANC-led government and this cannot be allowed to continue.

The DA believes that all learners should be afforded the opportunity to be educated in an environment that is free of sex pests.

While the Education department has partnered with the Department of Social Development and Childline to provide counselling services to learners affected by sexual abuse, we believe it is critical that learners have a dedicated hotline so that they can use to report cases of sexual abuse and bullying.

The vetting of patrollers and other staff at schools in Gauteng should not be conducted only once incidences of sexual abuse are exposed, this should be a standard within the recruitment process to ensure that our learners are kept safe at all times.

Once the special committee has completed its work we urge the MEC to establish the dedicated hotline as a matter of urgency.

I will write to the Education MEC and ask for an update on the progress of this committee.

#GPSchoolsAbuse: Only a commission of inquiry will suffice

 

The DA will continue to put pressure on  Gauteng Premier David Makhura to urgently establish commission of inquiry into sexual abuse, and related matters in Gauteng’s schools as we believe that only such a commission will fully probe this crisis.

The charm offensive strategy launched by Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, is ill-thought as this “task team of three MECs” have very limited investigative authority.

Furthermore, the legitimacy of Community Safety MEC Nkosi-Malobane’s call for security vetting beyond just criminal records for patrollers, is questionable. The MEC failed to thoroughly vet security patrollers stationed at schools in the province in the first place and therefore it would make no sense for her department to conduct the vetting in retrospect.

Stricter measures should’ve been considered a long time ago and, if it were, this crisis might have been averted.

Security vetting and all other issues surrounding the process must be probed.

Only a commission of inquiry would have wide-ranging investigative powers and the ability to subpoena individuals and officials to answer questions under oath and to expose existing loop holes in the process.

Other matters such as safety at Gauteng’s schools, reporting on sexual abuse by minors, the interventions available and the awareness and handling of issues at schools and districts relating to sexual abuse amongst others, can only be fully probed through a commission.

Only the Premier has the jurisdiction to appoint such a commission and if he does not do so very soon, it will send out a clear message that, despite his grandstanding, he does not take this shocking situation seriously.

DA calls for urgent commission of inquiry into sexual abuse at GP schools

The DA calls on Gauteng Premier, David Makhura to show leadership and urgently appoint a commission of inquiry into sexual abuse cases at schools in the province.

According to Section 127 (2) (e) of the Constitution, the Premier has the power to appoint a commission of inquiry. The time to use that power is now.

A full blown inquiry will be able to thoroughly investigate both known and unknown abuse cases in our schools and provide substantial solutions to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) in fighting the scourge of sexual abuse.

To date, Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi has been franticly running around offering apologies to learners, parents and teachers at various schools.  The MEC cannot continue to run around like a headless chicken and wait for a miracle in order for this PR nightmare to go away.

MEC Lesufi would do well to support the initiative and provide full cooperation to such a commission.

While we support the department in instituting security vetting measures beyond criminal records for security personnel stationed at schools across the province, the Premier has the opportunity to address this issue in a holistic manner and go beyond reactionary rhetoric.

Silence and non-reporting of sexual abuse and rape within our schooling system must be rooted out once and for all with this inquiry.

Premier Makhura, the time to act and use the powers vested in you by the Constitution to take charge and lead the way forward in getting to the bottom of this matter is now.

DA calls for investigation into extent of sexual abuse at our schools

It is with deep shock that we hear of yet another case of alleged sexual assault at our schools, as was reported by the Sunday Times today.

A water polo coach is accused of molesting more than 20 boys after video footage of the abuse emerged during a security sweep following an incident of theft.

It is horrendous that those in a position of trust and power continue to take advantage of learners in their care in such an obscene and destructive way.

While the DA applauds Parktown Boy’s High’s swift action in dealing with this matter, we need to ensure that more proactive measures are implemented as a way of flagging potential sexual abuse before it occurs.

The DA strongly encourages all affected learners, as well as those with information on this case, as well as others, to come forward, and share their stories. This needs to happen without fear of shaming or possible retribution against whistle-blowers.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has an obligation to ensure a safe teaching environment for all our learners, regardless of the school they attend.

The DA will write to the Chair of the Education Committee to initiate an investigation to ascertain the extent of sexual abuse at our province’s schools. It is only through full transparency and disclosure that we can hope to the eradicate what has become a scourge of our education system.

The DA will continue to fight for the rights of the most vulnerable in our society.
 
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