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Over R76 million lost to theft, vandalism of train stations in Gauteng, commuters forced to fork out more money for transport

It is extremely concerning that Metrorail in Gauteng has lost R76 810 980,00 due to vandalism and theft at its train stations during January 2020 and February 2021.

In addition, during this period, 271 Motor Coaches and 336 Plain Trailers were vandalised resulting in a total cost R810 800,00.

Currently, there are only six out of 17 lines operating due to this.

This information was revealed by the MEC for Transport, Jacob Mamabolo, to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

According to the MEC, 4000 additional security guards will be deployed nationally by the Passenger Railway Agency of South Africa (PRASA) during this month and there will also be the additional deployment of security guards to Mabopane Corridor as part of the Presidential projects.

The vandalism of trains in our province is putting additional pressure on our already constrained transport system in the province, while also placing an additional financial burden on our commuters who use trains on a daily basis to and from work.

Out of all the public transport available, travelling by train to and from work is the most cost-effective way to commute on a daily basis.

For a long time now, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has been calling on the Gauteng government to establish a dedicated railway police unit to help safeguard and keep our train infrastructure secure from criminals.

Where we govern in the Western Cape, PRASA has signed a memorandum of agreement with the government for the formation of a dedicated enforcement unit which focuses solely on the safety and security of train commuters and infrastructure.

The DA will continue to demand that a similar agreement be reached in Gauteng. Our commuters deserve to have a public transport system that is safe, reliable and gets them to work on time. A transport system that works efficiently will ensure that we have an economy that works.

Local Government Elections are coming up! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

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Learners left without critical education resources as over R2 million lost in burglaries, vandalism and theft in Gauteng

School children in Gauteng are being left without critical educational resources as schools have lost over R2 million due to vandalism, burglaries and theft leaving our children. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is shocked to learn that 1 231 cases have been opened by Gauteng schools since 2020 to date.

It is concerning that the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) continues to lose millions in theft, burglaries, and vandalism of schools while not much is being done to safeguard assets. GDE and the Department of Community Safety have dismally failed to prevent such incidents of vandalism, theft, and burglaries in our schools.

This information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

According to MEC Mazibuko, the schools in Gauteng have opened 1 231 cases of vandalism, theft, and burglaries.

Of these cases reported, 300 suspects were arrested in 147 cases and only 34 cases resulted in the conviction of 37 accused persons.

It is very worrying that there are low arrest and conviction rates despite the high number of cases reported.

This means that no arrests were made in 1 084 cases and 1 197 cases did not make it to the court row.

The department’s school’s safety strategy is ineffective, and it is evident through the number of cases reported. This is a clear indication that the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) is also failing to prioritise school safety with adequate police visibility.

Furthermore, the department has lost R2 225 611.00 on these incidents of vandalism, theft, and burglaries in our schools. This money could be used to eradicate asbestos schools and fix deteriorating infrastructure across the province to ensure a conducive learning and safe teaching environment. 

Untrained and unarmed school safety patrollers alone will not be able to safeguard our valuable school’s assets. There is a need for community members to take ownership of the schools and for the department to explore the feasibility of employing permanent security guards to safeguard schools, particularly in areas that have a high crime rate.

In addition, DA proposals such as the installation of fences or walls surrounding schools, installation of CCTV cameras and alarm systems in hotspot schools linked to the nearest police stations would make a profound difference in preventing such incidents from happening again.

MEC Mazibuko must also liaise with the Gauteng SAPS Commissioner, Lieutenant General, Elias Mawela to provide an update with regards to the SAPS intelligence unit investigating the syndicates that are involved in vandalism, theft and burglary of our schools so that the perpetrators can be apprehended and there is a stop to this criminal element.

Schools are precious resources and harming a school is harming the future of our children and the future of their generation.

Local Government Elections are coming up! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

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School vandalism will harm future of children, SAPS national intelligence must investigate

Recent vandalism of schools in Gauteng have the very likely potential of harming the future of students, unfairly leaving them without much-needed resources for learning and teaching. The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns the vandalism of 54 schools in Gauteng since the beginning of the year.

It is terribly concerning that schools continue to be a target for criminals and that both the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and Community Safety have dismally failed to prevent such incidents of vandalism, theft, and burglaries, where the GDE continues to lose millions of rands repairing and replacing resources stolen and damaged during these incidents. 

Such money could be used to eradicate asbestos schools to protect the health of vulnerable children, and also fix deteriorating infrastructure across the province to ensure a conducive learning and teaching environment.

 The department’s school’s safety strategy is ineffective, and it is evident through the number of vandalism cases reported.

This is a clear indication that the South African Police Service (SAPS) is also failing to prioritise school safety with adequate police visibility. 

The DA has tabled questions to the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to ascertain what measures are being put in place to safeguard our schools and the number of cases, arrests and convictions that have been made so far.

We are calling on the SAPS intelligence unit to urgently investigate the syndicates that are involved in vandalism, theft, and burglary of our schools so that the perpetrators can be apprehended and there is a stop to this criminal element. 

Furthermore, DA proposals such as installation of fences or walls surrounding schools, installation of CCTV cameras and alarm systems in hotspot schools linked to the nearest police stations, night shift patrollers to safeguard schools, and the co-operation of community members would make a profound difference in preventing such incidents from happening again. 

Local Government Elections are coming up! Visit check.da.org.za to check your voter registration status.

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Vandalism, burglary of schools shows Gauteng government has abdicated its responsibility

The vandalism of public assets, burglary of schools, deterioration of government-owned property and unsafe buildings are all in some way or another, linked to the fact that this administration has abdicated its responsibility to manage the infrastructure under its custodianship and Mr Premier, this is an indictment of your leadership.

Despite R43 billion of assets, this administration has up until now not had any property management function to check the condition of buildings and other fixed assets, to manage leases in order to maximise revenue, to utilise its’ assets for the benefit of the community and to prevent the deterioration of the assets. The tax-payer is the victim of all of these leadership and management shortcomings because it is the tax-payer that picks up the costs.

In the context of schools, unsafe and insecure infrastructure impacts negatively on learning, puts the lives of learners at risk and gives rise to the increasing theft from schools. MEC Lesufi, appealing to the community and threatening the criminals publically has clearly not borne fruit. What is required is a management intervention and frankly, I do not believe that your department has either the expertise or the financial resources to deal with this matter. Please prove me wrong.

Throwing millions of Rands down a black hole on useless campaigns such as I Care We Care has also not worked, because the vandalism and theft continues unabated.

Besides the poor management of infrastructure, your party, Mr Premier, has failed the citizens of this province and this country by falling foul of your constitutional obligation to keep people and their property safe from the ravages of rampant criminality. 

On a previous occasion in this house Mr Premier, you threatened to unleash the criminal justice system on the so-called thugs in the business forums that disrupt our projects, and what happened, an escalation of disruptions. The citizens simply cannot rely on you or on SAPS to prevent the criminality that takes place in the context of our infrastructure. You have proved that you are incapable of arresting this problem, so are we destined to stand by and watch the criminals vandalise and steal our assets and our future?

If not Mr Premier, please indicate that you have a plan, because thus far, all we have seen and heard is propaganda and empty promises.

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Gauteng Provincial Government must implement stringent measures to stop vandalism

As Members of this House, we have a duty to ensure that we promote good governance and encourage our communities to take ownership of government assets as well as private properties.

Vandalism of properties particularly government institutions such as schools, libraries, clinics, community centres, trains, torching of government vehicles and public representatives’ homes as well as the trashing of public institutions must not be tolerated.

The looting of shops and the stoning of vehicles must also be condemned.

Vandalism of properties has now become a norm particularly during service delivery protests which is unacceptable.

Failure of service delivery has resulted in wide-spread protests by residents across the province.

Protests result in violence, injury, damage to state and private property and allows criminals to take advantage of the chaos to commit crime.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes that everyone has the right to express their dissatisfaction through legal protests, however it does not give them the right to vandalise property and loot shops. Such actions are criminal and should be condemned in the strongest terms.

Communities are destroying facilities that are meant to benefit them and future generations. The government does not have enough funds to repair the institutions that have been vandalised as it is struggling to ensure that every community has access to all necessary facilities. This motion calls on the Gauteng Premier, David Makhura to provide strategic leadership and direction on how to safeguard our provincial assets.

We urge communities to work with the provincial government in ensuring that our public and private facilities are safe and secure.

There should be an awareness campaign to conscientise the community about the importance of safeguarding and protecting public facilities.

Its high time that the provincial and local government informs communities about the costs for the damages incurred as a result of their behaviour.  They must also be informed as to where the money will be taken from and how this will impact on delivering other much needed services. This will help residents to understand and be informed about the consequences of their behaviour.

The much-needed transformation and changes will not be felt if the developments are targeted for wrong reasons. ??

The commitment to modernize and develop our province must be enjoyed by all, and the impact must be felt by those who we are intended to serve.

The DA is very concerned about the security of school assets and infrastructure particularly during the festive season. The majority of robberies occur during December, as teachers and learners will be on holiday and schools will be empty.

We have had numerous incidents of burglaries and vandalism of our schools where valuable assets such as smart boards, computers, televisions, printers, tablets and laptops have been stolen.

The vandalism and burglaries are costing the department millions to replacing these much needed assets.

Schools patrollers alone are unable to prevent crime from occurring in our schools as they are not adequately trained to deal with these types of incidences and have limited resources.

The department should explore other security measures such as ensuring that our schools are equipped with alarm systems and CCTV cameras.

The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements has many incomplete housing projects that are vulnerable to vandalism. This is as a result of poor planning, poor project management and misappropriation of funds by the department. 

Most of the unfinished housing projects have been vandalised, the walls have been partially demolished, and the bricks have been stolen as well as the window frames and door frames.

The local residents who are desperate to own houses have on several occasions unsuccessfully attempted to invade these houses. Some of these incomplete houses have been marked with names and contact details written on the walls.

Gauteng Provincial Government should liaise with different departments and local government to implement stringent security measures to minimise vandalism of properties.

The provincial government must partner with the law enforcement agencies to ensure that our provincial assets and facilities are safe and protected.

Those found guilty of vandalism of property must be arrested and face the might of the law. We urge the communities to report anyone caught vandalising both public and private property and that they should refrain from taking the law in their own hands.

I urge all of us to discourage anyone who thinks or believes that anger or frustration can be remedied by violence aimed at public or private assets. This is a waste of minimal resources meant to improve the lives of the people that we represent in this House. We must show unity in condemning any wrongdoing which impacts negatively on any infrastructure development. Let’s call for adequate punishment for all wrong doers so as to protect law abiding citizens.