In her February 2023 State of the Province Address (SOPA), Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube made many promises around reducing the scourge of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). To date, hardly any have been fulfilled.
The Premier promised;
• To launch a pilot smart policing programme within so-called GBV hotspot areas to ensure more safe spaces for women and children. Premier, where is this programme and where are these safe spaces nine months later?
• To consider bringing back retired detectives to deal with cold cases to allow detectives to focus on immediate cases. Premier, has this happened in the past nine months?
• To protect vulnerable women and girls by partnering with the private sector and providing panic buttons linked to police stations. Premier, has this happened nine months later? A recently parliamentary reply to the DA reveals that not one panic button has been purchased to date. Please enlighten us.
• That volunteers be recruited at police station customer service centres to release officers and detectives to do their work. Has this happened nine months later?
• That GBV shelters would be refurbished and 50 more victim friendly rooms added at police stations. Has this happened nine months later?
• That GBV Rapid Response Teams would be integrated into war-rooms. Has this happened nine months later?
DA members have been on numerous war-room functionality oversights across KZN. We have seen that they are dysfunctional and yet another ANC money pit in a pathetic attempt to show it cares.
Our province continues to record the highest number of reported rape cases and second highest number of sexual assault cases in the country. This while murder and attempted murder are a daily reality and most rape victims are assaulted in their own homes or at the homes of their perpetrators – most of whom are known to victims.
KZN also holds the record for the highest number of reported rape cases at educational institutions. So much for schools being safe spaces for our children.
Every year, KZN’s Taliban faction ANC government talks about this issue when what it should be doing is implementing its promises, before it is too late. A new year is about to begin, with another State of the Province Address, and the same empty promises will be regurgitated – with a few more ideas thrown in – yet again.
And while government talks about its plans to tackle this scourge – our mothers, sisters and daughters are being killed. Until our country and our province has a government that truly cares there will be talk with no hope.