KZN premier appeals to residents to work with police to fight cross-border crime

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KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube is appealing to Umkhayakude residents in northern KwaZulu-Natal to work with police to fight cross-border crime.

She was addressing the community with Police Minister Bheki Cele at a crime fighting Imbizo.

Umkhanyakude has for years been plagued by cross-border crime, especially carjackings, leading to killings.

Dube-Ncube says the provincial government says a new contractor has been appointed to erect high concrete barriers to prevent vehicles stolen in South Africa from being taken across the border to Mozambique.

“Minister Ndosi said, if an unknown car is parked next to your house, you will be arrested if you do not report an abandoned car. You have to report that car to the police. If police found it next to your house, we will assume that it belongs to you, and you stole it. It is important to work with police to end this scourge,” she says.

uMkhanyakude residents also raised a number of service delivery concerns, including the lack of adequate water, poor infrastructure, and cross-border crime.

“People are now scared to visit Mhlabuyalingana, because of the high rate of crime, and police visibility is yielding results,” says one of the residents.

“We are calling on the government to work with their counterparts in neighbouring countries. People are losing their lives because of cross border crimes,” says another resident.