The residents of Maphisa Growth Point have committed to pay $USD2 monthly contributions to operationalize the Neighbourhood Watch to curb crime that was bedevilling the Maphisa community and surrounding areas.
This pledge was made during a residents meeting at J Mafuyane Township on April 2 where the resident committee was presenting what it has done since its inception late last year.
The Maphisa Neighbourhood Watch, which was formed in 2022, has faced resource constraints which affected their capacity to operate and fight crime in Maphisa.
Speaking at the residents meeting, the chairperson of the neighbourhood watch committee Mr Misheck Ndlovu said their work has been limited as they have shortage of equipment to fight crime.
“We need fuel, handcuffs, tasers, paper sprays, torches and volunteers to make sure that we are fully capacitated to fight crime in our community”, Ndlovu said.
He emphasized that it was impractical to have reliable volunteers who are not given a token of appreciation for patrolling at night and responding to incidents of crime.
“The volunteers need to get something as well as motivation and an appreciation so that as residents we can put our safety into our own hands without necessarily depending on the police” he said.
Reports of rape, assault, robberies have been on the increase in Maphisa Growth Point and people have been living in fear particularly because of the proximity of artisanal mining.
As a result, it was agreed that all households must contribute per stand.
“We have some buildings that are still under construction, and I believe some of these are used by criminals to hide so we need the owners to come forward and contribute to fighting crime”, one resident suggested.
To operationalize the neighbourhood watch, it was suggested that blocks should be formed, and the block team leaders selected who are committed individuals. The selection of the blocks and its leaders will be done by both the Neighbourhood Watch and Residents’ Association committees who will then forward it to the Maphisa Area Committee for review, and approval.
