The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) warned during the debate on the Gauteng Department of Community Safety’s budget for the 2026/27 financial year that administrative expansion, paperwork and oversight committees alone will not combat crime in the province or make communities feel safer.
Gauteng remains in the grip of violent crime and lawlessness, leaving residents with a growing sense of insecurity.
In the Freedom Front Plus’s view, the province’s budget should be more than a theory on paper, it should practically ensure safety and security in people’s homes, schools, businesses and streets through focused funding.
The party is particularly concerned about the Department’s persistent poor performance and the total lack of accountability when targets are not met.
Taxpayers’ money is currently wasted on bureaucracy, while there is a serious shortage of support for visible policing and rapid response capabilities.
This poor management forces too many communities to rely on private security companies and voluntary neighbourhood watches, because state institutions are falling far short.
The budget must be urgently reprioritised. Tax money should rather be used for improving visible policing and patrol services on the streets, modern technology such as integrated closed-circuit television networks, and intelligence-driven crime fighting mechanisms.
Another major shortcoming is that collaboration between the Department, the police, metro police services, municipalities and community policing forums is currently fragmented and inadequate.
Without a decisive, integrated security strategy, crime will simply continue to prevail.
Gauteng cannot afford another year of purely theoretical plans, excuses and unrealistic objectives. Residents deserve decisive action against crime and stringent accountability for officials’ poor performance to restore their trust in the rule of law.
The party will diligently keep fulfilling its watchdog role in the Legislature.
The Freedom Front Plus will also keep pressing for practical solutions, fiscal accountability and measurable results to make Gauteng safe again.
