Pretoria - The disruption of schooling to express dissatisfaction during protest action robs innocent children of their future and also violates their basic right to access education, says the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster Ministers.
“We urge communities to put the interests of their children first and protect them against acts of hooliganism,” said chair of the Cluster and Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, during a post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) briefing on Thursday.
Violent protests in areas such as Malamulele, in Limpopo, have seen learners being barred from attending school, while schools have been torched.
Reiterating that people are free to exercise their constitutional right to protest, the Cluster said they should do so in a peaceful and orderly manner without damaging property and inflicting injury to law-abiding citizens.
“The hijacking of community concerns by criminal elements undermines genuine grievances that communities may present to government,” Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said.
The Cluster has instructed law-enforcement agencies to deal firmly with any person who violates the law during protests.
The South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Public Order Police unit is being capacitated to effectively and professionally deal with violent protest action.
Training in crowd management has also been extended to the metropolitan police in the provinces.
Safer schools
The Cluster said working with the Department of Education, schools are being linked to police stations and crime-prevention programmes.
“Initiatives such as search and seizure operations are being carried out to rid our schools of undesirable items such as drugs, substances and weapons. In addition, school safety programmes were implemented at 15 796 schools which are linked to police stations.”
Safer communities
On safer communities, the Cluster will aim to promote community participation in order to rid communities of crime.
In this regard, 99% of all police stations have implemented operational community police forums, while community outreach programmes leading to numerous crime awareness campaigns were also conducted.
This is in addition to 125 community safety forums that are functioning in eight provinces. The Free State province is the only province which does not have these initiatives. The Cluster is in a process of ensuring that such forums are established there.
Rural Safety Strategy
In line with the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Rural Safety Strategy, police have embarked on an accelerated programme to provide new infrastructure and improve existing ones.
New police stations are being built and existing ones maintained in rural areas.
“Six new stations are being built in the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, including Muyexe Village in Giyani, which is a Presidential nodal point,” said Minister Mapisa-Nqakula.
To ensure that integrated crime prevention and combating strategies are implemented, the Rural Safety Strategy has been fully implemented at 117 police stations countrywide.
The strategy was developed in 2009/10 in collaboration with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), agricultural unions and the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs.
Special attention has also been given to improve forensics, crime investigations and prevent crimes against women and children, including efforts to meet competency standards for all trainees in these areas. - SAnews.gov.za
