ANC chairperson Sihle Zikalala says the province continues to have unacceptably high crime levels, especially murder and rape. While speaking at the provincial party’s two-day provincial executive committee lekgotla in Durban on Sunday, Zikalala noted that drugs and substance abuse remain a driving factor.
He said the dominant narrative is that the ANC government has failed its citizens by failing to protect them from dangerous and violent criminals
“Our province continues to hog headlines as the murder epicentre and rape hotspot in the country. The crime statistics covering the period from July to September reveal that nine areas in the province featured in the top 30 areas which have the most murders in the whole country. Inanda topped the list of murder cases with 92 murders; with Umlazi in second place with 84 murders.
“On rape, Inanda was ranked at number four, Umlazi at number 14, and Ntuzuma at number 30 in the top 30 hotspots in the country,” he said. Government needs to have a renewed focus to address the high crime numbers as Zikalala said it has a major impact on socio-economic development and reduces the province’s ability to attract investments to grow the economy and create jobs.
“In one oversight report on policing in KZN it emerged that we need to do more to beef up our response to crime. Police rate of detection of cases, case backlogs, and court-ready dockets were cited in the report as needing urgent improvement. In addition, the state of victim-friendly facilities at the police station requires urgent attention.
“Attention also needs to be paid to the state of our borders and the illegal persons who easily access our country as the perceptions are rife that there is a causal link between rising crime rates, an increase in counterfeit goods and illegal foreign nationals entering through our borders,” Zikalala emphasised.
He added that the ongoing drug peddling and killings taking place in the province, especially in eMbali, uMlazi, Inanda, Richmond and others require serious intervention. “We are equally appalled by the murder of amakhosi, izinduna, and councillors.”
Following the deadly July unrest in the province, Zikalala said the maize, citrus and sugar cane farms recorded losses from fires set during the July riots.
The wholesale, retail and motor trade were negatively affected by the widespread looting and destruction that engulfed KZN and Gauteng.
Source: News365
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