The DA fully supports the intention of the Council to establish a Metro Police unit in Nelson Mandela Bay and we have been driving this issue for many years. The reality is that there is no budget allocated in the 2013/2014 budget and it is unlikely that the Mayor will be able to source the required funding this year.
The Safety and Security Directorate is in a complete shambles and rectifying the current problems should be priority number one. Improving by law enforcement, issuing of traffic fines and improving the fines collection rate within the existing system would go a long way to bringing order to the prevailing chaos in our Metro.
Current outstanding traffic fines are estimated at approximately R 110 million and the outstanding fines amnesty for motorists is a dismal failure with only around 100 offenders making use of this grace period. Collect the R 110 million and funding the Metro Police will no longer be a problem.
The Safety and Security Directorate should get back to basics, fix what’s broken and ensure it is effective before establishing a Metro Police unit. We must identify the existing problems, fix them and then establish our Metro Police otherwise the rot will simply continue.
The Mayor must stop beating around the bush and present a plan to fund the much needed Metro Police that does not impact on the pockets of the ratepayers, or he must publicly state his intention to remove the Metro Police from the agenda this year in order to plan for the next financial year.
Marshall van Buchenroder
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