The Gauteng provincial government multi stakeholder initiative is showing signs of early success.
The province entered into a deal with all 11 municipalities of Gauteng that includes the three metros of Joburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni in November last year and have already embarked on crackdown operations across the province with hundreds of arrests.
The latest such law enforcement operation was held in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni where officials and officers were greeted with the worst ( gruesomely violent) as an ATM bombing was carried out by a gang ( estimated to be 10 in number) just hours before the start of the campaign.
Two of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department officers who were already on the ground in the township sustained gunshot wounds on arrival at the filling station that was being robbed.
While no arrests were made in connection with the filling station robbery, authorities expressed confidence that the robbers, who were captured on CCTV would soon be nabbed.
Premier Panyaza Lesufi led multi stakeholder visit to the scene and said CCTV was part of the measures that were being put in place as part of the province’s borderless war on crime.
“ for the best time there will be cameras everywhere here in Tembisa because we to know all the time who is in Tembisa and what are they doing in Tembisa. Just this morning before we started our operation they bombed an ATM not so far from here. they don’t know, CCTV cameras caught them and we will soon have them, they’re going to learn the hard way, we are no longer going to tolerate crime in our townships, in our province and in our country,” said Lesufi during a spirited address to residents at Mehlareng Stadium.
Authorities announced the operation had achieved more than 400 arrests including 76 of Gauteng’s most wanted criminals, over a than a hundred illegal immigrants with more blitz campaigns planned as well as strict bylaws enforcement by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department expected.
“ remember we already had 150 of these guys ( most wanted criminals) and now we got the 76 through this operation. we are going for serious convictions and this way we will end crime,” said Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Thomy Mthombeni.
Tshwane Metro Police Commissioner Yolando Faro has been made the head of the intergovernmental pact that’s based on an October 2024 memorandum of understanding signed between the provincial government and the municipalities.
She said crime fighting could not be undertaken in isolation from general service delivery.
“ we are talking about grass cutting, pothole patching, repairs in general and helping with other community issues which we think will create the space to confront crime,” said Faro.