Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal says the province is under siege as criminals have more fire-power than the police.
This was according to DA KZN Community Safety and Liaison spokesperson Sharon Hoosen, who issued a statement after Police Minister Bheki Cele released the quarter two crime statistics 2022/23.
Cele said Inanda police station in KZN, Mthatha in the Eastern Cape and Delft in the Western Cape were the three top stations with the highest rape cases.
He also said Inanda and uMlazi police stations in KwaZulu-Natal and Nyanga station in the Western Cape registered the highest counts of murder during this period.
Cele said “961 of the reported murders in KwaZulu-Natal were as a result of firearms followed by Gauteng with 768 murders”.
Still on murder, Cele said KZN recorded the highest number of multiple murders, followed by Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Hoosen called on Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and Community Safety MEC Sipho Hlomuka to account following the release of the statistics, which show a province under siege with criminals having more fire-power than the SAPS.
She said the information released showed an increase in serious crime across the board and painted an extremely grim picture of runaway lawlessness in the province. This is as the ANC government pays lip service to the devastating effect that crime is having on the people.
“According to the figures, KZN remains the province with the highest number of murder cases, with an increase of 6.5% and 1 857 reported cases. Attempted murder is also up, with 1 614 cases – an increase of 8.5%.”
Hoosen said the province was also second only to Gauteng when it came to reported rapes, with an increase of 9.9% and a staggering 2 045 incidents within the three-month period. Other serious crime increases included:
- A staggering 96.1% increase in attempted sexual offences with 100 cases.
- An equally alarming 92.9% increase in kidnapping, with 713 cases.
- A 16.4% increase in contact crime with 27 458 cases.
- A 17.3% increase in assault with 6 273 cases.
- A 9.8% increase in sexual offences with 2 458 cases.
- A 33% increase in robbery, with four KZN communities ranked among the worst in the country for residential robberies.
- A rise of 26.8% for car-jacking and 77.8% for truck hijackings.
“Regrettably, these are not just figures – they reflect the real-life experiences of KZN’s people. They also point directly to a government that does not value the personal safety of its people,” Hoosen said.
She said the release of crime stats had become a cue for the ANC government to make more elaborate promises, which it never fulfilled.
Then there are the lies that it expects communities to believe – that it is safe for them to walk around their neighbourhoods, that SAPS facilities and services are being improved and – the biggest one of them all – that justice will be served when it comes to those who commit a crime, Hoosen said.
“The question is: How does it intend doing this when SAPS officers lack capacity, are under-resourced, under-trained, underpaid and have to deal with numerous infrastructure challenges? If the tide is to be turned against crime, this is where KZN’s political leadership needs to focus first.”
Hoosen said the DA had offered numerous solutions to crime in KZN, but there was a clear lack of political will to implement them.
She added that until such time as there was political change, KZN people would continue to live under siege.
“In just over a year the citizens of our province will have the opportunity to break free from an ANC government more interested in self-promotion than protecting them. Only then will our communities become safer.”
Daily News