KING Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Municipality Executive Mayor, Nyaniso Nelani, has called for an integrated crime fighting strategy between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the municipality’s law enforcement unit, to ensure safety of residents in the municipal area.
He made the call during a meeting between the municipality and newly appointed OR Tambo District acting police commissioner Brigadier Vukile Ntandane held at Mthatha Stadium on Wednesday, July 7.
“I am here to call on you in the security cluster to integrate your efforts and make sure that what we see in the streets of Mthatha, the lawlessness in this city and the complete disregard of lockdown restrictions, is a thing of the past,” said Nelani.
He further called on Ntandane to strengthen the crime intelligence, under the OR Tambo District and Mthatha, to decisively deal with rampant crimes, such as drug dealing, vehicle hijackings, occupation of buildings in the Mthatha Central Business District and robberies.
In his reply, Ntandane welcomed the call by Nelani for an integrated crime fighting strategy, saying they were already working in collaboration with the municipality and the municipality was represented in weekly meetings on crime fighting strategies.
“We commit that we will work together with all the municipalities under the OR Tambo District, and the community at large, and we will ensure that if there are any complaints in terms of crime fighting, we will attend to them speedily, as our main task is to fight crime and make our people feel safe,” said Ntandane.
Ntandane is no stranger to the OR Tambo District having served as a detective commander for the district, under the leadership of the retired district commander, Major General David Kanuka. He has more than 30 years of experience in the police service, having joined the SAPS in 1990.
His other positions in the police service include cluster commander in Port St Johns, visible policing commander in Woodstock, and the Philippi East and Hillbrow police station commander. Ntandane has been appointed as acting OR Tambo District police commissioner from July 1 until further notice.
