As part of the Integrated Safety Month and Festive Season Campaign launch, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Minister Bheki Cele, MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Sipho Hlomuka and Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi were joined by a large police contingent as they raided buildings in Durban South Beach where undocumented immigrants were identified.
The Premier lambasted the owners of the ‘shabby’ and dilapidated buildings for putting profits first ahead of people’s lives. She said that during the festive season period, police will also be applying technology including drones to monitor high crime zones and capturing footage of criminal activities. KwaZulu Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has issued a stern warning to criminals that law enforcement agencies in the province are tightening the grip on all forms of crime, mainly contact and violent crimes during this festive season.
Officially launching the KwaZulu-Natal Integrated Safety Month and Festive Season Campaign on Friday, 11 November, Premier Dube-Ncube said that police in the province are ready to take the war to criminals. “The vision of government is ensuring that the people of KwaZulu-Natal live in a safe and secure environment. Women, children and vulnerable groups should feel protected and have confidence in the Criminal Justice System to effectively apprehend and prosecute criminals. “We are launching this festive season campaign at a time when our country is focused on the 16 Days of Activism for no violence against women and children. There is a lot of work that the provincial government is doing to mobilise society to root out this scourge. There will be heightened visibility in all corners of our province including integrated crime prevention and crime combatting operations on provincial and national roads, rail environment, ports of entry and the border line. The people of our province, visitors and business must be rest assured that all law enforcement agencies working with stakeholders in KwaZulu-Natal are on board to ensure a safe, peaceful, and incident-free festive season,” said Premier Dube-Ncube.
Premier Dube-Ncube highlighted that special intelligence-driven operations will be implemented in cooperation with all our law enforcement agencies. “We are encouraged to see the state of readiness and unity of our law enforcement agencies and stakeholders. Police made numerous arrests as we were out on the streets of the Durban Central Business District conducting law enforcement operations and raids in various buildings that have deteriorated into drug dens and crime havens. We have unveiled our plan which involves all sectors including civil society, business, the taxi industry, community policing forums, and many more joining hands to arrest crime during the festive season. We are ready to thwart all the criminal networks, we will be at their rear and flanks,” Premier Dube-Ncube said.
Premier Dube-Ncube expressed concern over the increase of road accidents that continue to claim lives and the economy. “We call on the road freight industry to attend to the issue of errant truck drivers whose negligent driving has taken many lives in the province recently. We remember vividly the Pongola horrific accident. The multiple truck accidents a few weeks ago claimed more lives. Our roads cannot be turned into mass graves and places of untimely deaths. The Road Traffic Inspectorate has a huge responsibility to make every road user feel that when in KwaZulu-Natal you drive responsibly or face the music. We are exploring ideas around the spate of truck accidents. This may include enforcing a curfew on freight trucks and redirecting vehicles to less busy roads. We are continuing engagements with the freight and logistics industry,” she said.
