WATCH | KZN top cop Mkhwanazi talks tough to station commanders on service delivery to communities

In a bid to enhance community safety and service delivery, KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has ordered station commanders to hold regular community meetings.

Mkhwanazi proposed these sessions be held monthly between local police and the communities they serve. These gatherings, known as imbizos, should involve interaction with community stakeholders including schoolteachers, traditional leaders, councillors and residents to form working relationships.

“Every community must know the station commander in their area,” Mkhwanazi said. “In these meetings the police must explain the progress in cases reported by the community. The police will let you know what crimes took place that month and progress made. They must tell you about the state of crime in your communities.”

While in some communities these gatherings are part of service delivery, there are places where this line of direct accountability does not exist. 

“They must tell you about the results of court cases. If someone was released on bail, they must come and explain to you why — and also report to you on people who will be going to court and when, so that you are informed as a community,” said Mkhwanazi.

The initiative was highlighted at a community imbizo and service delivery monitoring programme in Caluza.

The event, attended by premier Thami Ntuli, MECs and police, aimed to address community concerns and explore practical solutions to improve service delivery and tackle crime.

Ntuli underscored the importance of such gathering in strengthening community policing and enhancing access to basic services. He acknowledged the fear in communities regarding reporting crime due to concerns about potential victimisation or safety.

“The aim of this imbizo is not to show off. Our meeting must come with results from issues we have heard from the community and people must see change.

“I have written your problems down and when I reach the office I will follow up to see what solutions can help the issues mentioned and if we need to involve the national government we will do so,” he said. 

Ntuli emphasised the need for accountability, stressing that if solutions are not implemented it would reflect poorly on the government.

“If I find out that some of the issues have not been captured by our heads of department and solutions have not been implemented, we are going to have problems because the community sitting here they are our bosses. They ensure we get paid with their taxes, so we are not their bosses, we are their workers.

“Us being here, we must show them respect by not only listening to them but by also coming back with results.”

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