Africa-Press – South-Africa. “We need help, Mr President.”
This was the overwhelming plea from North West residents to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday as he and Cabinet members visited the province for an imbizo.
Ramaphosa was greeted by hundreds of residents when he arrived at the Mahikeng Stadium.
Residents were allowed to raise their concerns over a lack of service delivery in the province.
About 39 residents were given an opportunity to speak directly to the president. They raised issues around unemployment, drugs, lack of sympathy of police in dealing with disabled and elderly people, and cases of gender-based violence (GBV) not dealt with in the appropriate manner by police.
Addressing the crowd, Ramaphosa said he noted their concerns.
“Services must be provided in the area. Strengthening the capacity of the state and making sure the work gets done. We are no longer going to be talking about things that must be done, we are going to do the things that must be done,” said Ramaphosa.
A resident said:
Many of the residents said they were concerned about how GBV cases were handled at police stations. Some residents were turned away by officers, while others were left unattended due to a lack of staff on duty.
Responding to the allegations, Police Minister Bheki Cele said: “Police are not supposed to turn a victim away. The job of the police is to go and arrest the perpetrators.”
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Cele added that currently, there were 900 police in training to sit on the GBV desk at various police stations.
“They need to develop understanding, empathy and sympathy for the victims as they come to the police station so that they can respond with a better understanding,” he said.
Cele said 442 new police officers would be trained in the North West.
“There was another resident that said police officers are not kind. I am giving management and myself three weeks to come back to the province and deal with the policing and drug issues,” he added.
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