Pretoria - Ministers of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster, will today visit Itsoseng and Bodibe in the North West in a bid to ensure stability ahead of the elections.
This is the fifth in a series of visits the ministers are conducting in different provinces. Previous visits were conducted in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Rustenburg in the North West.
On Wednesday, the delegation visited Freedom Park, a mining community in the North West, to ensure that the area was safe and conducive for residents to exercise their democratic right to vote.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa says government will deploy a contingent of police officers to Freedom Park in the North West ahead of general elections.
He said some residents had during his visit told him they were too scared to sleep at night and this was enough to ensure that police visibility in the area was increased.
On Tuesday, State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele led a delegation of ministers in the JCPS cluster to Sterkspruit and Molteno in the Eastern Cape to encourage a peaceful climate ahead of the May 7 elections.
The majority of residents in Sterkspruit and Molteno in the Eastern Cape vowed to practice their democratic right to vote in next week's election, however, they have requested increased security measures.
The minister held community and stakeholder engagements in both small towns, which have been hit by service delivery protests in recent months.
In KwaZulu-Natal, ministers in the JCPS cluster say they are confident that the upcoming general election will be conducted in a peaceful environment in KwaMashu and Wembezi. The two areas were identified as hotspots by the cluster earlier this year due to incidents of violence.
Last Thursday, the delegation was in the Western Cape and made stops at 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.
Minister Mthethwa says law enforcement agencies will increase their presence in a number of communities that are often plagued by political violence. – SAnews.gov.za
