Durban — EThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said it was important for the municipality to bring police and crime experts under one roof to develop strategies to assist the city to fight crime effectively.
The city held a two-day Anti-Crime and Social Cohesion Summit at the Durban Exhibition Centre this week.
The summit aimed to share ideas between stakeholders to reduce crime and build cohesive communities.
Head of Inter-governmental Relations, Eric Apelgren said social cohesion was important in the context of xenophobia.
“Racism and xenophobia creates instability and our cities have to have strategies to deal with it.”
Xenophobia was highlighted in 2008 when riots led to 62 deaths, 670 people injured and 1 500 displaced.
“I do think the triggers are that a small percentage of the migrants are in the country illegally and have criminal intent – and through their various activities, it causes instability and conflict in the society,” said Apelgren.
Acting Chief Operations Officer of the eThekwini municipality Linda Mbonambi said the 2030 vision states that eThekwini will enjoy the reputation of being Africa’s most caring and liveable city – where all citizens live in harmony. Going forward to 2050, the vision incorporates elements of safety, justice, resilience, social cohesion and cultural expression.
“We are trying to make sure that our city talks to everyone – and that everyone feels comfortable where they are because Durban is their city.
“We have co-ordinated some safety programmes – such as Operation Good Hope – which has embarked on targeted and deliberate enforcement.”
Mbonambi said the operation aims at targeting issues such as illegal tuckshops – where expired goods are sold – which could be a health risk.
Head of the Community Policing Forum (CPF) Aidan David said he found it disrespectful that the summit did not invite the CPF.
Daily News