Empangeni property owners ask for gated suburbs
Empangeni residents tired of "living in fear" have submitted requests to the KwaZuluNatal Department of Human Settlements to turn the townÂ’s suburbs into a gated community, amid a "spike" in crimes.
Residents have grown impatient with a "lazy" and "inefficient" police presence in suburbs and say crime is out of control.
Community representatives met Human Settlements MEC Ravi Pillay at a community meeting in Empangeni on Friday. Police representatives also attended.
The MEC would convene a meeting "soon" with the community and the Umhlathuze Municipality to assess crime fighting possibilities in the area, and the practical considerations of building boom gates, Human Settlements spokesman Mbulelo Baloyi said yesterday.
The orovincial SAPS denied claims of a "lazy" police presence in Empangeni suburbs.
"Visible policing members are always deployed in the area on a 24-hour basis", spokesman Major Thulani Zwane said. He rejected the idea that crime had escalated in the area.
The Mercury
Posted at 08:15AM May 30, 2016 by Editor in Cities and Towns |