By Surgezirc
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi declared war on crime at Giant Stadium in Soshanguve, Pretoria, by officially launching the crime prevention wardens initiative.
As of May 1, around 4 000 newly recruited criminality Prevention Wardens are expected to sweep criminality off the streets of the province.
They will be armed and given state vehicles to help them monitor the province.
Lesufi stated confidently that the recruitment and CCTVs will make it easier to bring criminals to justice.
Faith Mazibuko, MEC for Community Safety, stated that they were also working hard to ensure that Gauteng was safe for all.
Lesufi made a commitment to Gauteng citizens in his first State of the Province Address (SOPA) on February 20 that their areas would be protected and safe because they are directly dealing with crime.
In the following three years, he plans to expand the budget for combating crime from R750 million to multi-billion.
The following are also some of the projects that the Gauteng government would roll out to fight against crime:
* To connect suburbs, townships, business districts, schools, and other public places with high-tech, face, and car recognition CCTVs.
* To procure 180 state-of-the-art drones that will infiltrate areas that are difficult to patrol and police.
* To procure 400 new police cars so that from May 1, every ward in our communities will have a 24hr patrol car equipped with proper gadgets.
* To recruit 6 000 young men and women to monitor and police Gauteng 24/7.
During SOPA, he said revamping the legislation on the following three crucial areas would strengthen their fight against crime:
“Registration of cars, because cars are a common denominator in violent crimes; either stolen or getaway vehicles, elimination of illegal guns, and the need to migrate our Province to use less cash in business transactions,” he said.
