The Northern Cape festive season plan was handed over to Bongani Mkongi, deputy minister of police, and Pauline Williams, MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, by Lt.Gen. Peter Shivuri, provincial commissioner, in Jan Kempdorp over the weekend.
The duo is expected to play an oversight role in ensuring the commitments in the plan are honoured and that it makes provision for operations before, during and after the Festive Season until the end of January 2018. The handover was done on Saturday (04/11) during the annual launch of the Safer Festive Season Operations, wherein several units of the police showed their proficiency in responding to crime.
Hosted at Tlhwahalang High School, specialised unit members performed bomb threat exercises, while the Special Task Force demonstrated parachuting.
Shivuri summarised the plan to the community by referring to recommendations from the deputy minister that the focus be placed on alcohol, drugs, violent crimes and safer roads this festive season. Williams elaborated that special operations on the roads include ensuring that the unnecessary loss of life is minimised. She reminded the attendants to take seriously the campaigns educating drivers as well as pedestrians about obeying the rules of the road and planning safer journeys.
“These are also operations to enforce the law and make sure the evildoers do not use our transport networks for their own nefarious purposes, like the transportation and distribution of drugs and illegal goods,” she added.
“We have clearly thought long and hard about elevating this initiative to such a level that, every year, we find ourselves here, together, pledging our unwavering commitment to ensure that our people are and feel safe.”
The defining characteristic of the Safer Festive Season Operations is its multi-disciplinary approach to crime fighting.
“Today, we have received the plan on how we will, through dedicated, concerted and coordinated efforts, ensure the safety of members of our communities during this holy season. I am proud to say that our operations have, thus far, been characterised by exemplary hard work and a clear and crisp focus on preserving the dignity of our people by keeping them safe,” said Williams.
“It takes long hours and the coming together of units and departments to ensure that we strengthen our defences and improve our ability to safeguard our people and their possessions. It is, indeed, a sad fact that opportunistic criminals use this time to loot and plunder and hurt others. We need to stand together, with zero tolerance for lawlessness, and root crime out wherever it occurs,” she said.
The day was concluded when the Northern Cape police received 19 police vehicles to enhance service delivery.
