By Buziwe Nocuze
Residents of Nyanga, one of Cape Town’s most dangerous townships, say their safety is compromised because of the broken down police vehicles parked outside the local police station.
Community members claim that at least seven police vehicles cannot be used, and most have flat tyres.
Resident Nolusuindiso Jekana expressed concern about the many useless vehicles.
“Nyanga is one of the most dangerous townships in Cape Town. We are the murder capital. We need to have every vehicle on the road,” Jekana said.
Another resident who asked to remain anonymous went to the police station to open a case against her abusive boyfriend. She was told to wait but eventually left without any assistance.
“I waited for nothing. My boyfriend even called saying if there was no police van to pick him up, he could take a taxi to the police station.”
Lubabalo Class was visiting the police station to certify his documents when he heard a woman complaining about the long hours she spent waiting for a police vehicle.
“That lady waited for more than six hours for a police van that was attending to another scene. She ended up going home without being helped,” Class added.
The situation has raised questions about the government’s commitment to providing essential services to communities.
Nyanga Community Policing Forum chairperson, Dumisani Qwabe, said he knows that a request to fix the flat tyres was sent to the government garage.
“I know the relevant department. The garage they are using can’t deal with the broken vehicles. Instead of having so many cars parked while the crime escalates, give the job to other people,” Qwabe said.
Captain Frederick van Wyk, Western Cape Saps spokesperson, acknowledged the problem and said the malfunctioning vehicles were receiving the attention of management as they knew it hampered effective service delivery.
“Mechanical resources such as vehicles tend to require maintenance or become defective due to the 24-hour deployment of these resources,” he said.
“When vehicles are out of commission due to maintenance or a breakdown, alternative measures are taken so that policing is not affected.”
He did not specify how.
Pictured above: More than seven Nyanga Saps vehicles are not working, with most of them having flat tyres, raising concerns about effective policing in the area
Image source: Buziwe Nocuze
