Maimane slams new metro police ‘farce’

DA LEADER Mmusi Maimane has dismissed Nelson Mandela Bay’s newly established metro police unit as a farce, saying it would not be able to tackle crime.

Speaking in Port Elizabeth yesterday, Maimane said there had to be proper law enforcement to curb gang violence in the area.

“At times like this, we have to say enough is enough,” he said in Helenvale, where he had gone to pay his respects to the family of twoyear-old Caydene Ruiters, who was killed by a stray bullet in front of her home in December.

“We can’t have our young people’s lives taken in a manner like this,” he said.

“To all the gang members, we are not going to allow you to dictate to communities where they must live, where they must walk.

“When the DA governs, you are the first ones we are going to take out.

“You might parade around with your weapons here, but when a proper metro police comes, your destination is jail.”

Maimane, who was also in the city to hold community meetings, said young people in the northern areas often turned to drugs and crime because they could not find jobs.

If the DA won the majority vote in August, it would recruit young people from impoverished areas and train them to become metro police officers.

“It’s so sad that this municipality has taken up a metro police farce,” he said.

“When I looked at those officers, it doesn’t look like they even went to the gym. They don’t make me scared when I look at them.

“Who are these clowns they have put together? If they were serious about fighting crime, they would have people who are fit.

“We don’t want people called via WhatsApp to say come and fetch your uniform.

“This whole thing is a joke. We can’t have a farce when lives have been lost.”

The metro police force was officially launched on Friday after about seven years of delays.

At the launch, mayor Danny Jordaan said it would reduce crime through crime prevention and bylaw enforcement.

“The metro police are here and they are combat-ready,” he said on Friday.

“The train has left the station and they are ready [to fight crime].”

He disputed claims that the event was a smokescreen, saying the metro cops would be on the street this week.

The 78 officers will be inducted over two days this week and will be deployed on the streets afterwards.

A group of South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) members protested at the launch, saying they were still negotiating their contracts with their bosses.

Meanwhile, Caydene’s mother, Davidene Ruiters, told Maimane how the family lived in fear since the fatal shooting.

“We were used to hearing gunshots now and then, but ever since my baby was killed, I fly off my bed and hide under it whenever we hear gunshots,” she said. “We are living in fear all the time.” Maimane urged Ruiters’ eldest daughter, Tamlynn, 15, to finish school, saying he would try to find a bursary for her to study further afterwards.