Pretoria - Ministers of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster will today visit Sterkspruit and Molteno in the Eastern Cape in a bid to ensure stability ahead of the general elections.
This is the third in a series of visits the ministers are conducting in different provinces. Previous visits were conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
Last Thursday, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa was joined by several other ministers from the JCPS cluster as he visited the so-called hotspot areas in Cape Town to assess the communities’ readiness for the election.
The delegation made stops in townships like Khayelitsha, Manenberg, Phillipi and Tafelsig, where informal discussions were held with residents and community leaders.
The ministers also spoke to people on the streets regarding their concerns about crime, gangsterism and drug abuse. Residents in all the visited areas had the issues of crime, drug abuse and gansterism on their list of concerns.
Government wants to ensure that South Africa’s citizens get to exercise their democratic right to vote in a peaceful, free and fair environment.
After a meeting with the Western Cape police leadership, Minister Mthethwa said he was pleased with Cape Town’s readiness for the elections.
“I am satisfied that when the day comes, we are going to have a successful election, without any conflict and it will be free and fair. I am satisfied with the readiness of our personnel on the ground,” he said at the time.
On 17 April, the JCPS cluster ministers visited KwaMashu and Wembezi in KwaZulu-Natal, which were identified as hotspots by the cluster earlier this year due to incidents of violence.
On arrival in KwaMashu, the ministers were briefed by various stakeholders, including the Provincial Joints Operations Centre, about the situation in the area. The delegation did a walkabout at KwaMashu hostels, where they interacted with the locals, who used the opportunity to raise their concerns on several issues.
Addressing the media after the walkabout, Minister Mthethwa said he was confident that the elections in the area will be conducted peacefully.
South Africans will go to the polls on May 7 for the fifth general election since 1994, which will be symbolic in many respects as it coincides with the country’s 20 years of freedom and democracy. – SAnews.gov.za
