Friday, May 17, 2024

Makhaza SAPS officially opened; Tafelsig SAPS to be completed by 2026

Police Minister, Bheki Cele officially opened the Makhaza Police Station in Khayelitsha, on Thursday.



According to the police ministry, this is a fully-fledged police station that will operate at full capacity offering all policing services from crime prevention, visible policing and investigation services to a population of 85 000 residents.



Makhaza Police Station is the fourth station to be built in the area.

Cele also handed over fifteen new vehicles fitted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) which is a system that can assist police to detect stolen vehicles by detecting if a vehicle is registered or licensed.



‘’We will continue to advocate for the building of more stations so communities are able to have greater access to services. A police station must be in close reach and a walk away for victims of crime and communities. We hope this station will address murders, rape and violent crime in this area. We also welcome the ANPR system that will enable us to recover stolen vehicles and suspicious activities”, said Bheki Cele, Police Minister.

Earlier in the day, a SOD turning ceremony took place at the Tafelsig police station which marked the start of the construction of a new police station. When completed, which is set for November 2026, this Police Station will be the third station in the Mitchell’s Plain area.

Reacting to this, and Western Cape’s Police Oversight & Community Safety MEC, Reagen Allen, says these SAPS stations were long overdue.

‘’We urge SAPS to ensure this new Makhaza SAPS station, which is led by a Lieutenant Colonel is afforded the necessary human resources that are required, so that they are able to alleviate the pressure that Harare and the other stations are experiencing.’’

‘’These residents [in Tafelsig, Mitchell’s Plain]are currently using the services at Mitchells Plain station, which has a police-to-population ratio of 1:600. Had SAPS been under the capable management of the Western Cape Government(WCG), these stations would’ve been constructed a long time ago. We would not allow communities to experience these levels of crime and not attend to it,’’ added Allen.

Mayco Member for Safety & Security, JP Smith, welcomed the progress of the two SAPS stations. The Makhaza site was sold by the City to the Department of Public Works in 2018 and the Tafelsig site in 2014.

‘’The City also recently sold the site for the new Belhar police station at a discounted rate, approved the lease of a portion of our Nyanga Depot Building in New Eisleben in Nyanga and is working with SAPS on a Browns Farm satellite police station with a further facility to follow in Mfuleni.  The City of Cape Town is committed to working with SAPS and facilitating the release of land and buildings to increase police stations within the city.’’

‘’As we look forward to the expansion of more SAPS facilities and resources, we reaffirm our resolve to continue working hand in hand with SAPS and other stakeholders to create safer, more resilient communities for all through sharing our policing resources and technologies from the City, and continued collaboration with SAPS on the ground,’’ added Smith.

He called on Cele to distribute more SAPS resources within Cape Town by ‘’modernizing SAPS through computer-aided dispatch and other technological advancements within the policing sector and by boosting the number of police officers and detectives at police stations. ‘’

‘’We cannot push back against gangs, extortion, and construction mafias with more boots on the ground alone - we need to start making meaningful arrests that lead to convictions,’’ said JP Smith, MMC for Safety & Security.

Rise Mzansi candidate for Western Cape Premier, Axolile Noywala, said the building of the Makhaza SAPS is one of the recommendations by the Commission of inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha.

‘’Many of those recommendations are important to assist police here to be able to do their work. There are a number of informal settlements that exist around the police station, and recommendations around policing guidelines in informal settlements, which has not yet ben undertaken.’’

 

Done by: Mitchum George

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