The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to Mpumalanga’s MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe, calling on him to prioritise hotspot areas that are prone to both car and truck hijacking.
According to the latest crime statistics for the second quarter of 2023-24, it has been revealed that between July to September 2023 car hijacking in Mpumalanga increased by 14%. In this regard, Witbank (eMalahleni) and Vosman were also among the country’s top 30 Police Stations with the highest jackings.
- Witbank ranked 21/30 with a total number of 52 cases
- Vosman ranked 24/30 having reported 49 cases
Being cognisant of the fact that both these stations are in eMalahleni local municipality, we call on the MEC to prioritise his efforts in the municipality during the upcoming festive period.
For the period spanning July to September 2023, there were also 73 reported truck hijackings which affected Delmas, Bushbuckridge and Middelburg. In this regard,
- Delmas ranked 6/30 with a total number of 12 reported cases
- Bushbuckridge ranked 7/30 with a total number of 11 cases
- Middelburg ranked 10/30 with 8 reported cases
Being heavily reliant on trucks in the province, instances of truck hijacking and or the burning of trucks should never be tolerated and because of which, MEC Shongwe must increase police presence in the affected areas.
For the above-mentioned period, the following crimes have also increased during the second quarter:
- Murder and contact crimes increased by 6.8% and 4% respectively