Pretoria – Residents living in uMhlabauyalingana Local Municipality, in KwaZulu-Natal, will soon feel much safer in their community, thanks to the upgraded Manguzi Police Station and personal safety alarm systems.
Last month, President Jacob Zuma visited the community of uMhlabauyalingana and promised to monitor the progress on all the issues which had been raised.
The community raised concerns about the safety in the area and challenges such a border crime and stock theft.
Visiting the community on Friday as part of a Ministerial Imbizo, Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi said since the President's visit much progress has been made.
“The Manguzi Police Station has now been upgraded with additional 44 police officers recruited to fight border crime and restore safety and security.
“Furthermore, through the Innovation Centre of the Ministry of Public Service and Administration, the CPSI, we will distribute to all homes in this community the Memeza personal safety alarm system. The alarm system will assist in the fight against crime,” the Minister said.
She urged the members of the community to assist the police by providing information that can lead to the arrest and conviction of the criminals in their society.
The Minister said when government and community partner together, it will bring safety and stability in the community.
The Minister also visited Kwandaba and Bekabantu clinics to assess the state of health services. “I am very pleased with the work the Provincial Health Department is doing in this community and also express my sincere appreciation to the nursing staff of Bekabantu and Kwandaba clinic for the excellent work in serving our citizens.”
The Minister also visited offices of Home Affairs and SASSA at Manguzi area. “We found the situation depressing and we do not agree with the way services are rendered. The people of Manguzi deserve better and we will raise these challenges with the Ministers of Home Affairs and Social Development as well as address serious challenges of youth unemployment and teenage pregnancy,” said Minister Muthambi.
She said it is the responsibility of government to ensure that public servants providing these services are provided with the right tools and proper working environment.
“We would therefore look into these challenges and come up with solutions on how to address them. We need to make sure that public servants are fully empowered to inform you as citizens in situations where services cannot be rendered within the reasonable time or as expected.”
The Minister said during her visit to some of the service delivery points, she discovered that there were challenges with the waiting period to be served and she ensured that it will be addressed.
The Minister committed that government will continue to provide better and improved services to the community of uMhlabauyalingana.
“We are a government that is guided by Batho Pele Principles when rendering services to our communities. The Batho Pele Principles are a blueprint of how we, as government, should conduct ourselves when rendering services to you.”
The Minister promised that they will return to the community in July to assess progress following all interventions to improve delivery of services. – SAnews.gov.za
