NMBM hosts Crime Summit to reclaim the Metro
Published: May 03, 2023<< BACK TO NEWS
Concerned with the increasing crime rate and violent crimes in Nelson Mandela Bay various stakeholders have committed to be part of the solution as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality hosted its inaugural Crime Summit which seeks to find collective and sustainable solutions to the problem.
Held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday, 3 May 2023, the summit saw NMBM, SA Police Service, Department of Home Affairs, Community Policing Forums and other community leaders engage in robust discussions.
NMBM Executive Mayor, Cllr Retief Odendaal, said it was concerning that NMB was counted among the unsafe areas in the country.
"We used to be known as a beautiful City next to the coast, relatively free from the shackles of crime however over the last couple of years that situation has changed. That was always to be expected in a City where we have the highest unemployment rate of all Metropolitan Municipalities, lowest GDP, the socio-economic circumstances will be such a nature that crime was inevitably going to soar. We must remember that economic development must at all times be at the forefront of what we want to achieve in this City; job creation so that we can give economic freedom to the thousands of people in NMB that do not have access to a job.”
"We need to reclaim our City. We cannot allow this City to be crime ridden and our communities to continue to live in fear. The reality is SAPS does not have available resources to protect us that is why the City in collaboration with civic society and SAPS must come up withsolutions as to how we are going to make NMB safe again. It is important that we create a City where people feel safe again, where our children can play bicycles in the streets, in parks without the fear that something will happen to them,” said Mayor Odendaal.
During the engagements, the gangster related crimes that claim lives of young people on a weekly basis was highlighted as a major challenge facing NMB. Other areas of concern include Gender-Based Violence cases, businesses and housebreakings, vandalism to Government infrastructure and the robbery of tourists in the region.
During the
summit, it was agreed that NMBM needs to intensify the enforcement of bylaws,
Social Development with NMBM Constituency Services and Speakers Office should come
up with a
clear plan on how to rebuild solid family structures and the security cluster
will develop a plan to improve community policing working with CPF and other community
basedcrime fighting structures and the private security sector.
This will be in line with the National Integrated Violence and Crime Prevention
Strategy (ICVPS) which is an implementation tool of the White Paper on Safety
and Security adopted in 2016.
The ICVPS consists of six interdependent and interrelated pillars which
are:
- An effective criminal justice
- Early interventions in preventing crime
- Victim support interventions
- Effective and integrated service delivery
- Safety through environmental design and;
- Active public and community participation.
SA Human Rights Commission Monitor, Christian Martin said it cannot be business
as usual across the Metro when young people continue to die in senseless
deaths.
"We cannot excuse the past injustices in our country that still have a trail in
our communities including what we know as crime in our different spaces. When I
talk of crime, I am talking about the reality of having to bury four young
people in one weekend because they died in gangsterism related crimes. In some instancesinnocent lives are found in the crossfire. In the Northern Areas and townships we
know crime on a physical level. The fact that New Brighton was listed as the
most dangerous township in the Eastern Cape means there is something wrong in
our society, we need to change the wheel while we still can,” Martin
said.
NMBM Safety and Security Portfolio Head, Cllr Lawrence Troon said the latest
technology such as roving drones, was one of the interventions NMBM was
exploring to prevent and respond to some criminal
activities.
"We have started with today’s session, it
will not be the last of its kind and we want to call on all our residents to
join us in this journey. We urge parents please work with us against these
criminal elements that are swallowing our children,” Troon
said.
Issued by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Communications Office.
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