King cops call urgent meeting on Breidbach building turned crime den
KING William’s Town police have immediately acted on an article published in the GO! & Express last week (“Root of all evil” on the King edition front page), calling for an urgent meeting with community leaders and various stakeholders.
The meeting was held at the King police station commander’s office on Friday afternoon and postponed to the Breidbach community hall on Thursday at 11am.
Stakeholders present at the meeting were Colonel Andile Lamani, Warrant Officer Densil Ruiters, King Community Policing Forum secretary Nyoki Mfazwe and Breidbach Sanco deputy chairman Desmond Coetzee.
There were apologies submitted from representatives for Buffalo City Metropolitan (BCM) officials and other community stakeholders due to other commitments.
The meeting is the direct result of the article which made headlines in the GO! dated September 21, where an outcry was made by the community for the demolition of an abandoned building situated in the centre of Breidbach.
According to the article, community members have stressed their concerns about the building left vacant and in a pathetic state by the property owner which posed a number of safety and health concerns to the entire community.
“The article has touched us as police for the concerns of the safety risks at the building and we have to act,” Lamani said.
“We will need to reschedule and get the presence of the respective BCM officials and other community stakeholders at our next meeting to get some insight on how we are going to deal with this stumbling block.”
Coetzee mentioned that with the recent spate of serious crimes reported and committed in the area, interventions in all forms would be much appreciated to restore peace and the dignity of the people in the once peaceful community.
“Breidbach has turned into a Satan’s paradise overnight with so much crime happening.
“We are not safe anymore and are really longing for the days when we could freely walk our streets at any given time,” Coetzee said.
“Every obstacle to the creation of peace, harmony and freedom of every community member should be dealt with accordingly.”
Mfazwe said they will meet as King CPF before the meeting and she will put the topic on the agenda for discussion.
Ruiters will again extend an invitation to BCM, the ward councillor and to the other stakeholders.
