South Africa: Only One Police Van Is Operational in This Sundays River Valley Town

Nqweba police cannot respond to emergencies, say residents

Police in Nqweba in the Sundays River Valley are unable to respond to emergencies because only one of the station's vans is operational, say residents.

They say Nqweba Police Station, formerly Kirkwood Police Station, has been operating with only one police van for more than two years.

Residents say they have to wait several hours, or even days, before their cases are attended to because police lack transport. Some victims of crime end up not reporting incidents out of frustration.

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Nqweba is the business centre for the Sundays River Valley area and the administrative seat of the Sundays River Valley Municipality. Citrus farming is the main economic activity, employing thousands of people, followed by tourism.

DA councillor Karen Smith said the Nqweba police station has one vehicle for prisoner escorts, and another borrowed from Steytlerville which is used for visible policing and attending to crime scenes.

"Basically they have one van operating for crime prevention. They should have seven vehicles but two have been in repairs for some time now and four have been boarded or broken down."

She said Nqweba SAPS served a large area including Nqweba centre, Moses Mabhida township, Bersheba, Bonterug and surrounding farming areas. She said the population of the valley jumped from 60,000 to 75,000 or 80,000 in the harvest season.

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana acknowledged a shortage of vehicles at Nqweba police station, but said police at the district office had activated a contingency plan.

"While the station is awaiting the allocation of new vehicles, neighbouring stations, including district vehicles, are being utilised to augment the few that are operating in that policing precinct," Gantana said.

Asked to confirm that only one vehicle was operational, Captain Majola Nkohli said SAPS could not divulge the number of operational vehicles "for obvious reasons".

Patrick Bayini of the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) said crime was very high, especially during the citrus harvesting and packing season. He said people were often attacked when going home from taverns in the early morning.

"When you open a case, police tell you there is only one van and the others are in the garage," said Jackson Daniel of the Zionist Church. "There has been a vehicle problem for the past two years, I think . That is why there is poor policing in the area."

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