DURBAN UNITES IN NEW BLITZ ON CRIME

Plan Starts to Prepare City for 2010 World Cup

Drug traffickers, smash-and-grab syndicates and errant landlords will
feel the heat in Durban in the next few months. They are among the
prime targets in a focused and sustained new programme to fight crime
and grime.

A co-ordinated project-by-project programme is to be run by the three
tiers of government, coupled with organised business, NGOs, the police
and others. They will join forces from tomorrow in a plan to uproot
those breaking the city's bylaws.

The project was announced yesterday at a joint media conference
spearheaded by provincial Safety and Security Minister Bheki Cele and
City Manager Mike Sutcliffe. They said the eThekwini Safety and
Security summit, to be held tomorrow, would come up with effective
crime-fighting strategies aimed at making Durban an environment
conducive to business and tourism activities.

A tough-talking Cele said the summit would not be a talk shop. Nor
would there be time for cumbersome discussions on crime.

"We know the issues, we know the problems, we want solutions. The
present situation, in which our people live in fear of criminals, in
which our foreign guests and tourists live in fear when visiting our
city, must come to an end - and now is the time."

Durban has been divided into five operational areas with identified
hot spots - the beachfront, the Durban CBD, northern, southern and
western areas.

Programmes in the five areas will deal with familiar concerns: social
issues (street children, people sleeping rough, undocumented persons);
licensing matters (liquor outlets and nightclubs); fencing (cellphone
theft, the role of second-hand shops and pawn shops); enforcement
(dilapidated buildings, car guard operations, firearms and dangerous
weapons); and sleaze (the commercial sex industry and illegal drugs).

The city fathers are optimistic that drug trafficking, smash-and-grab
incidents and prostitution will be drastically reduced.

Sutcliffe said that plans were under way to crack down on shop owners
who sold glue to street children and to close down buildings where
landlords harboured drug dealers, prostitutes and organised crime syndicates.

Cele said that smash-and-grab incidents were on the increase because
pawn shops provided a lucrative market for cellphones.

"We want to mobilise as many people and organisations as possible to
adopt projects and programmes to ensure that the whole city is
mobilised and is collectively committed to addressing crime and
creating a safe and secure environment for all our people," he said.

The long-term vision is to ensure that Durban is ready to receive the
tourists who are expected to converge in Durban for the 2010 World
Cup.

An organising committee has already been set up to ensure that the
safety and security summit is sustained for years to come.

Prince Sfiso Zulu, the Deputy President of the Durban Chamber of
Commerce, said the involvement of organised business in the programme
was critical because business needed certainty and stability to thrive.

"We are excited that this project is spearheaded by the safety and
security MEC as this will guarantee political support," said Zulu.