The Eastern Cape MEC for Community Safety, Xolile Nqatha has expressed great concern over the increased crime Stats in the province. The comes after Stats SA revealed that murder in the Eastern Cape province has increased by over 30 % in the second quarter, compared to the first quarter, adding attempted murder which increased by 30%.
Stats showing crime, show that contact crime is the most common in the Eastern Cape. Alarming mass killings and shootings have also been pointed out by the MEC.
It is believed that the recent spate of mass killings across the province have said to be the major contributor to the increase in murder cases.
“We are very concerned, especially with areas like NMB, BC and OR Tambo as our hotspots. We are worried because it is gravitating towards where people are living in fear in their own homes, but we are not helpless in this as SAPS together with the government are putting together programs to try and work around this issue”, says Nqatha.
A declaration of war against crime has been made by the MEC after saying Organized Crime which includes gangsters and syndicates is another threat to the society.
“Crime is becoming more organized and therefore there are territorial fights against various groups, where as drug- related syndicates, and some related to extortion, where they demand some shops to pay money. Some people are kidnapped for ransom, which happened recently in East London. That is why we must organize ourselves in order to get to these organized criminals”, added Nqatha.
Sexual offences have also seen an increase of 11% in the province. The MEC says efforts to protect victims should be a priority and these figures should call for concern.
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