Durban – Acting KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr Kwazi Mshengu, has tasked law enforcement agencies to act swiftly against those in the Freight Industry who are threatening to cause anarchy and shutdown major transport routes in the province.
MEC Mshengu said all law enforcement agencies in the province are on high alert to avert any possible disruption to traffic and protest action on our provincial and national corridor.
He added that police have developed a comprehensive tactical enforcement plan targeting key hotspot areas.
“Today we received a high-level briefing from the police management in the province and we are satisfied with the level of preparations and the security plan that has been developed. The burning of trucks and attacks on motorists is a major issue of concern for us as the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal, because such acts of criminality threatens to destabilise the logistics industry as well as the economy.
Those that attempt to disrupt traffic and attack any freight transport will face the full might of the law because we are not prepared to negotiate with criminals.
Public gatherings such as marches and social gatherings are prohibited under the Adjusted Covid-19 Alert Level 3 lockdown therefore all law enforcement agencies deployed across the province will apply fundamental policing principles and act against those that break the law, guided by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa as well the current State of Disaster Regulations,” said MEC Mshengu.
MEC Mshengu said government has developed a robust plan of action and embarked on a process to address the challenges facing truck drivers through the road freight and logistics inter-ministerial task team that was set-up. This task team is comprised of all government departments relevant to the issues raised by truck drivers.
Already progress has been made, including sustained enforcement operations aimed at addressing issues of compliance in the freight industry.
Today (Sunday, 24 January 2021) and tomorrow (Monday, 25 January 2021) MEC Mshengu together with the police top-brass will visit some of the hotspot areas to assess the effectiveness of police deployment.
Today at 18h00, the MEC will visit Durban Central Police Station and then proceed to inspect enforcement at the Durban Harbour. – Truckandfreight
