PHOTO: PHIWOKUHLE MOTHEMELA
The police ministry on Friday officially signed a cooperation agreement with the Eastern Cape provincial government as well as the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.
The cooperation agreement aimed to enhance collaboration and coordination among all stakeholders in the region, to address safety and security concerns effectively.
Police minister Mchunu, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and NMB mayor Gary van Niekerk were all present at the event.
They were flanked by Eastern Cape police provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene, national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola and other national, provincial and local officials when they signed the agreement at the City Hall in Gqeberha on Friday morning.
Mchunu said the agreement will close down the space for criminals.
His return comes off the back of a recently held imbizo at Soweto-on-sea in Gqeberha where he promised to work on a plan to combat the steady incline on crime in the metro.
“There's no criminal here who's going to be ahead of us on anything,” he said.
“We want to catch them [criminals] while they're still contemplating committing crimes.
“And when they go to execute their plans, they'll find us there,” the minister said.
“Now, this agreement is going to tighten up space in Nelson Mandela Bay so that we can go out of Nelson Mandela to deal with other crime hotspots [in the country], but we are starting here which is the mecca of criminality, in terms of statistics.”
