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NMB Civil Society Coalition calls for crime state of disaster to be declared in NMB

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The Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a state of emergency in Nelson Mandela Bay due to the systematic breakdown of law and order.

A copy of the letter follows:

Dear Honourable President Ramaphosa

On behalf of the Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society Coalition (NMBCSC) we wish to bring to your attention the alarming and escalating levels of crime which is engulfing our metro, and causing severe socio-economic hardship, insecurity and instability.

This metro used to be one of the safer metros in the country but due to the systematic break-down of law and order enforcement, this has become an exceptionally dangerous place for its citizens and communities. The alarming crime statistics, which include high levels of brutal shootings, robberies, hi-jackings, kidnappings cyber-crimes and vandalism of public and private infrastructure cannot continue to proceed unabated. These crimes have severe consequences upon the safety and security of people, especially vulnerable communities and have serious economic ramifications in terms of the retention of much needed investment and employment in our metro, which is in a province which now has more people unemployed than employed. In fact, the Eastern Cape is officially in recession with Nelson Mandela Bay as the biggest metro severely impacted.

It is against this background that NMBCSC, as a matter of urgency, would like to appeal to you to declare crime as a National State of Disaster for Nelson Mandela Bay, and along with this to set up a dedicated Safety and Security Task Force. This should be resourced with skilled people who are able to develop and implement a high impact safety and security action plan which will significantly reduce crime levels.

Specific areas of focus for the dedicated Safety and Security Task Force should include:

  • Address SAPS resourcing gaps in the metro (personnel, vehicles and other resources);
  • Ensuring visible SAPS presence in the crime hot spot areas of the metro;
  • Visible policing of major roads and critical municipal infrastructure such as sub-stations and sanitation pump stations;
  • Addressing SAPS supply chain issues;
  • Ensuring that effective implementation plans are in place to enable the ongoing maintenance of police vehicles (keep vehicles on the road); and
  • Ensuring that the Municipal Police Force becomes fully functional and accountable for the enforcement of Municipal by-laws;

We equally expect the activation of immediate to short-term practical solutions that includes among other:

Swapping of local police officials with those of other towns not familiar with our city
Deployment and or reinforcement of Tactical Response Team
Deployment of SA National Defence Force

It is important to note the NMBCSC is a fully representative organisation representing the constituencies of civil society and including non-profit organisations, labour, business, churches, youth, elderly, persons with disabilities, creatives and special sectors. We are apolitical and our efforts are directed at ensuring that Nelson Mandela Bay becomes a stable and safe socio-economic environment for all our communities, and that this in turn will attract investment and employment opportunities.

Yours in desperate need for urgent intervention and action.

Monga Peter
Chairperson, The Nelson Mandela Bay Civil Society

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