'We must bury our heads in shame that women are not safe in Gauteng': Lesufi

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has expressed concern about the rising levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in the province.

“There is one crime that continues to rear its ugly head in our province. It means the plans we have put in place for our province are not good enough,” he said.

Speaking at an event in Midrand, Lesufi called for urgent change as South Africa observes the international 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children.

“As we observe 16 days of no violence against women and children, we must bury our heads in shame that our women are not safe in Gauteng. We need to ensure that we protect our women. We need to ensure our children are safe,” he said.

In response to these challenges, the provincial government is directing resources to the most affected areas, with a significant portion allocated to Johannesburg, he said.

“I am proud that the lion's share of this distribution will go to the Johannesburg region. If we can’t bring back the Johannesburg CBD to be the safest area in our province, we would have failed in our mission.”

As the festive season approaches, Lesufi made it clear Gauteng will not tolerate criminal activity.

“Those who think they will use the festive season to attack our citizens, they must think again,” he warned, signalling the province is ready to confront crime with renewed resources and determination.

“We will not only pounce on them but we’ve got the resources to confront them head-on.”

Lesufi said he is proud of Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni and his team.

“I am proud of you. We are doing exactly what needs to be done to exit those that think they can do harm to our people in Gauteng. I urge all those working with you to keep it up. So far, so good. The only thing that is needed is to accelerate our pace.”

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