By Kopano Dibakwane
Mpumalanga premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, delivered the closing remarks on the final day of the crime prevention summit held in Mbombela on Thursday and Friday last week.
The premier acknowledged the participation of young people and children delegates at the summit as it epitomised the closing of youth month.
She said that the purpose of the summit was to develop new strategies in order to deal with current trends in fighting crime and corruption, thus allowing the citizens to actively participate in economic development, growth and to enjoy social freedom.
The premier stated that an integrated approach must be adopted in partnership with all relevant stakeholders and society in general.
” As we conclude the summit, all of us, based on our different mandates and responsibilities, we must all reaffirm our commitment of ensuring that all people in the province feel safe. Furthermore, crime and violence are not just a security issue, but have deep social and economic roots and consequences, which deprive the citizens of the their rights and dignity,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.
The premier said that the summit broke into four commissions discussing resolutions on issues such as; community involvement in fighting crime, effective justice system, gender-based violence and femicide, trans-national crimes and the role of local government.
The following directives were agreed upon;
- Strengthen the implementation of applicable police frameworks and directives by all role players and lead departments/institutions.
- Review certain provisions where necessary to give clarity and align to these resolutions.
- Review and incorporate programme of action to responsible departments.
- Reinforce the integrated implementation of the summit resolutions, through key sector agencies such as the OTP( office of the premier), COGTA(cooperative governance and traditional affairs), DCSSL(department of community safety, security and liaison) and SAPS(South African Police Service).
- Generate quarterly reports on implementation of resolutions to oversight structures and provide frequent feedback to communities and stakeholders through imbizos/makgotlas, ward committee meetings and various communications platforms.
Mtshweni-Tsipane said that the provincial government and all sectors of society represented at the summit must commit themselves to work together, in order to realise the ideals of an effective criminal justice system, which will contribute towards a dignified, safe and secure Mpumalanga province for all citizens.
