“Soldiers and police cannot win the fight against gangsterism, drug trafficking and abuse if the community is not actively involved in rooting these out with all its elements in the communities where they live. Active citizenry and committed working community structures that work with government is the only answer for problems that are faced by the people of the Northern Areas,” Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko said while addressing a packed hall in Booysens Park yesterday.
Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Executive Mayor, Danny Jordaan led a delegation of MECs, Deputy Ministers, Eastern Cape Police Commissioner and her Senior Police Management Team, senior government and municipal officials on a walk about and door to door programme in Helenvale.
“Work with us here, build community structures, strengthen community police forums, and then we can win this war. Let us identify and root out gangsters, drug traffickers and criminal elements within society. We need to take back our streets,” said Minister Nhleko.
Minister Nhleko said discussions have started between Department of Police and Defence on interventions that will be done in Northern Areas. “We will have to join efforts as a Security Cluster, which includes, Police, Defence, Justice, Correctional Services and Social Development in order to come up with decisive solutions that will bring about visible change,” added Minister Nhleko.
The day’s programme started with a door to door and walk about, later in the day it ended with a community meeting in Booysens Park Community Hall. The community meeting was in a form of an interaction between political leadership and community. The community members raised issues ranging from gansterism, drugs, unemployment and crime.
During the door to door programme in Helenvale the leadership interacted with both young and elderly. They all expressed their quest for peace, security and an end to gangsterism in their area. Gangsterism has to date claimed lives of innocent bystanders and children playing in the streets.
Executive Mayor Jordaan called on people of the Northern Areas (includes Helenvale, Gelvandale, Chatty, Booysens Park) to rally behind the efforts to make the Northern Areas a safe place.
“We appreciate the commitment that has been made by the security cluster ministers to work with us in fighting gansterism and drugs. The success of us all depends on the community support and partnerships. We cannot do it alone as government,” said Executive Mayor Jordaan.
He promised that today’s visit will not be the last. “Today I am here in Booysens Park, in actual fact I was born here. We will be coming back here as the municipality to take on issues of service delivery,” he said.
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