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Paterson Crime Issues Head to Parliament

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Dear Editor

The community of Paterson in the Sundays River Valley Municipality is being terrorised by criminals while the under-resourced local South African Police Service (SAPS) cannot deliver services and is beset by alleged nepotism and corruption.

Today, 15 August 2023, I was joined by Zuurberg Constituency Leader, Horatio Hendricks MPL, in attending a very productive meeting with the Paterson Concerned Members Group. (see pictures here, here and here)

Residents raised various issues within the SAPS in Paterson. These include that the police station is locked at night, telephones go unanswered, vehicles are broken down, the Community Policing Forum (CPF) is dysfunctional, and allegations of corruption, nepotism, and SAPS members having close relationships with known local criminals.

It is of grave concern that the CPF, the body that should monitor the effectiveness of the police and provide advise on priorities in the community, is not functioning. The current CPF is not fully constituted as three members did not pass the police clearance process and the local police allegedly hand-picked people to fill these positions without any election taking place.

I have pledged to take these issues up in National Parliament and also with the National Police Commissioner and the office of the Civilian Secretariat for Police Services.

The DA is championing a whole of society approach to fighting crime and ensuring safer communities.

Paterson has become a forgotten community and the only way to rescue this community is to adopt a whole of society approach to fighting crime and improving service delivery. That would require the Sundays River Valley Municipality to be an active stakeholder in the Paterson Concerned Members Group and to assist in making sure that the police is fully participating in meetings and presenting solutions to the challenges that are raised by the community.

The DA will continue to fight for forgotten communities in the Eastern Cape and will put together a rescue plan to get them back on track.

Regards

Andrew Whitfield MP
DA EC Provincial Leader

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