Underutilised satellite police station?

MARAPONG – Promises for a super police station in Marapong seem to have amounted to nothing.
Northern News investigated the issue of the underutilised police station and published an article (“Where are the police?”) on 24 October 2014. In the article, the cluster commander, Col. Lammy Tsebe, promised that the underutilised satellite police station would be turned into a “super station”. He said plans were forwarded to the office of the premier to have the issue prioritised.
Northern News visited the satellite police station last week and found the building seemingly abandoned. Residents in the area confirmed that they rarely saw police members at this station.
Johannes Mashaba, who lives in extension one near the police station in question, says that as a community they are concerned by the lack of a fully-functioning police station for a long time.
“After the Medupi strike earlier this year we have seen a lot of the so-called “ama-baretti squad “in the area but we don’t see local police officials,” Mashaba says. The Ama-beretti is the street name for the police’s tactical response team.
According to Mashaba the police take their time to attend a scene after a crime has been committed. “I have heard of people complaining that the police don’t come at all when called,” Mashaba says.
The greater Marapong consists of six extensions and covers a population of about 26 227 people and 6 625 households. Situated next to Eskom, this area was affected the most by the Medupi strike earlier this year with reports of violence and malicious damage to property.
Questions about the effectiveness of the satellite station to the provincial SAPS department were referred back to Lephalale SAPS. “I am not in a position to give information regarding the construction of a permanent police station in Marapong,” warrant officer Frans Mokoena of the Lephalale SAPS commented.
He did say, however, that the satellite station is open from 07:00 until 16:00 during week days. “The satellite station is manned by skeleton staff at this stage and the building was sponsored by Exxaro,” Mokoena says.
William Motlokwa, the ANC councillor in the area, is not happy with the fact that they don’t have a functioning police station in Marapong. “We need higher visibility and a more effective police station in our area,” Motlokwa says.
Marapong community policing forum chairman Josias Monyai says the satellite station presents the community with a big problem. “We never know whether the station is open to the public,” he explains. “Sometimes they close early and other times they don’t even open at all,” Monyai says.
Monyai says he phoned the Lephalale SAPS on several occasions only to be told that there are no vehicles available to go to Marapong. “Crime is high in Marapong and we need to be able to phone the police and know that they will respond on time.”
The Marapong area is seeing an increase in all crime and especially violent crimes. “Two weeks ago a woman was raped on her way home from a shebeen,” says Abel Tshikidi who resides in Marapong extension one. “Where were the police?”