Note to Editors: Click here for soundbites in English and Afrikaans, by Leona Kleynhans MPL, DA Member of the Official Opposition in the Free State Legislature.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) today wrote to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee responsible for policing in the Free State Legislature to request that the committee receive a special briefing by the Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Motsoenyane, on the implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy adopted by government.
The Free State’s border security continues to deteriorate in the Lesotho region, evidenced by the four attacks on farmers, farm workers and rural dwellers this past weekend in the area of Wepener, Hobhouse and Van Stadensrus.
The DA has further, learnt through a question submitted in the Free State Legislature, that over the course of the past year there have been 16 farm attacks yet only 4 suspects have been arrested. This is indicative of the inability of our police forces to adequately provide the necessary protection to farmers and speaks to the extent of the Free State’s troubles in the Lesotho border region.
In most of these cases in the border area, the attacks are becoming more brazen and aggressive, and the committee has a duty to investigate and determine what is being done to address the horrific situation.
The SANDF are deployed to protect the border from cross-border attacks and stock theft, but it seems that this deployment is having very limited success. The Caledon River which forms the border between Lesotho and the Free State, consists of an almost dry riverbed which provides no hindrance to potential criminals, or indeed any person or animal. The DA has filed questions to the Minister of Defence on the status of the deployment of soldiers to protect our borders.
As residents and public representatives in the Free State we can no longer tolerate the manner in which criminal syndicates operate with impunity in carrying out raids on farms and rural areas. Government has adopted a Rural Safety Strategy but the implementation has so far been limited.
As long as this strategy remains a paper document on the table of the Provincial Commissioner it means nothing. The immediate implementation in every police station is critical.
The DA has tabled a Community Policing Bill in the Legislature but, although the Bill seems to enjoy wide support by all parties, it remains subject to internal legislative processes and has not yet been adopted. This Bill would strengthen and empower communities, including rural communities, to play a meaningful role in their own safety.
It is time that the Free State Legislature take the safety of rural dwellers and farming communities seriously and find out why these communities are under siege from criminal gangs. The DA remains committed to fighting all crime, but particularly the scourge of farm attacks in the Free State, and are advocating for the security of our borders.
We will not allow those in our agricultural sector to become sitting ducks for criminals who prey on farmers.
Our farmers are a national asset who require a safe working environment to produce food and precious agricultural commodities for us all.