A meeting held in Pinetown in order to find solutions on how the Municipality can help decrease criminal activities in and around the Upper Highway area was adjourned without a solution being found, leaving the community frustrated this past Tuesday.
Deputy Mayor of EThekwini Municipality Fawzia Peer attended the meeting to listen to the complaints of the community but the meeting ended up being a political debate and was cut short.
Kloof Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairlady Nikki Mohlmann said they are very frustrated that the meeting was adjourned before they could be given a chance to ask questions, saying: “We, as the CPF, are frustrated as we feel all our resources to help our community fight crime have been exhaus-ted.”
She said the reason the meeting was adjourned was because of the mention that crime wouldn’t be as bad as it was if they dealt with the war rooms and if councillors attended community meetings.
She said the war room has never attended any of their CPF meetings, which are held monthly.
“SAPS even have a weekly meeting which they do not attend either; surely a war room should be meeting with SAPS and the CPF?
“Crime should not be a political thing, rather something we all should stand together on,” said Mohlmann.
She also stated that the deputy mayor did not respond to various questions in her speech, saying: “The only thing she said is that the parks department as well as the electricity [department] should be there to assist the community.”
In conclusion, Mohlmann said the Kloof CPF plans to launch various projects that will increase security to Kloof, however the community needs to support the CPF.
“This is the only way we can secure our area as both SAPS and municipality do not have the funding or the capacity to deploy further resources,” said Mohlmann.