King’s wish gets answered with a R50 million budget

Zulu monarch King Goodwill Zwelithini will be relieved that his plea for the government to deal with cross-border crime did not fall on deaf ears.

KwaZulu-Natal finance MEC Belinda Scott has given the provincial Department of Transport R50-million for a cross-border fighting initiative. The money‚ allocated by Scott during her budget speech on Tuesday‚ is earmarked for setting up a cross-border structure on the KZN-Mozambique border.

Brazen crime syndicates‚ mostly from Mozambique‚ have been terrorising communities in the border town of eManguzi‚ where several vehicles were either stolen or hijacked last year.

Some crime lords even targeted vehicles in police compounds‚ where their owners had kept them for safety.

Last year‚ King Zwelithini spoke out strongly about cross-border hijackings at his Enyokeni Palace during a meeting with traditional leaders‚ which was also attended by Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba.

“People are forced at gunpoint to go and fetch their vehicles in police stations where they keep them out of fear of being hijacked‚” he said.

Scott said the funds were allocated with the understanding that the Department of Transport will reach a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Home Affairs‚ which is responsible for border infrastructure‚ so that the money can be recouped.

“Similarly‚ a MOU with the SANDF (South African National Defence Force) will be entered into‚ for the border to be patrolled‚” Scott said.