CPF finally elected
ALEXANDRA – Commander expects new CPF to hit the ground running amid rampant crime.
The Alex Community Policing Forum was finally elected on 30 July to replace the one that was disbanded in 2015 following allegations of its political infiltration.
The process which was delayed due to disagreements on the eligibility of some candidates finally proceeded with six members duly elected.
An elated Alex station commander, Brigadier Zoleka Kuboni, welcomed the members who she said were vetted for criminal records. “Finally and after a long time, I had a good sleep after the elections,” she said.
“The forum is a critical link in police-community relations on crime fighting… Together we will defeat crime.”
Kuboni added that the process was democratic and was based on input from the four sub-forum elections earlier in the year. She expected the members to be hands-on, hit the ground running and to encourage residents to report crime. “The ball is in their [forum] court. They should lighten their work by urging councillors to encourage the public at ward committee meetings to report crime including petty crime which is the genesis of most crimes and criminals.”
She thanked the outgoing interim forum chairperson Goodwill Qushwana for creating an enabling an environment for the elections to occur, and for coordinating the process with the relevant stakeholders including the Department of Community Safety and the Independent Electoral Commission.
Alex police spokesperson Captain Allie Kodisang said the forum was sorely needed at a time when, in the month of July, the station attended to 12 murders, 113 assaults, 13 rapes and 12 hijackings among the 210 reported contact crimes. Other crimes included attempted murders, common robbery, sexual and other assaults with the intention to cause grievous bodily harm. He said the high figure of crimes reported reflected the community’s willingness to partner in combating crime.
The forum members elected are:
Vusi Gule, chairperson
Blessing Gina, deputy chairperson
Joseph Munyai, secretary
Mahali Mohlokoane, deputy secretary
Norman Maila, treasurer
Nomoya Thwala, public relations officer.
Details: Alex Police Station 011 439 7718/9.
Read: Alex braces for new CPF
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