The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned that Community Policing Forums (CPFs) in the Northern Cape forfeited funding allocated to them by former Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, in the previous financial year.
The Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison reported the loss of unspent funding, and the subsequent halting of safety projects, during a recent legislature portfolio committee meeting.
The DA previously welcomed the announcement, first made by Cele in around May 2023, that R70 million would be allocated to CPFs around the country to assist with the operationalisation of these structures. This was against the backdrop that only 40 out of 91 CPFs in the Northern Cape were functional.
While the R3 million allocated to the Northern Cape was inadequate, it still had the potential to provide significant support by way of addressing resource requirements such as the purchase of vehicles, laptops, torches, reflective jackets and other tools of trade.
The DA is especially concerned that the loss of CPF funding will affect the rollout and mobilisation of much needed CPFs in and around crime hotspot areas such as Galeshewe and Roodepan, where the SAPS stations ranked in the top 30 for attempted murder and assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, as recorded in the latest crime statistics release for the past two quarters.
Considering that crime is on the rise, especially violent crime and crime committed at residential properties, CPFs have an increasingly valuable role to play in combating crime and ensuring community safety in the absence of a fully functional and resourced SAPS structure in the province. They simply cannot afford to forfeit much needed funds, intended to strengthen their crime prevention capabilities.
The Northern Cape is in dire need of a whole-of-society approach to effectively win the battle against crime. The DA will engage with the CPF Board in the province to establish the way forward to ensure that funding, allocated to these structures in the future, is utilised prudently and to the benefit of all residents.