By Emily Setona
QWAQWA – The remarkable efforts of the community of Turfontein’s patrol team are lauded and awarded with certificates of appreciation by their ward councillor Sam Hlalele and the chief of the district of Thaba Tsiou Nyakallo Mohale.
The community of Turfontein sleeps peacefully at night because of the efforts made by the community patrol team since their inception in January 2022. Sector commander Sergeant Tshokolo Makhuba says that the crime level has decreased in Turfontein ever since the community patrol team made its presence felt in the community. “I applaud the efforts of the councillor and chief who have really made this all possible through their support. I have joy doing my job because this team calls me when police assistance is needed then I immediately contact Tsheseng police station to dispatch a car to go and monitor the reported situation,” Makhuba said.
When addressing the crowd Hlalele said the following, “The impact that the patrol team is making has led me to salute their efforts because their work has reduced the crime in the community and has really made my job in the community easier. Every now and then community members would come and report different issues to me but now my load is lighter through the collaboration and efforts made by this wonderful team.”
According to the founding chairperson Mahlatsi Moloi this patrol team was established in January 2022 as a group of concerned men and women because the crime level in Turfontein during that time contributed to most of the cases inside the Tsheseng police station which services this community. Ditjhaba Ntombela who has taken over from Moloi who has since stepped down due to ill health said, “The reason why I joined this patrol team is because we saw that things in our community were falling apart, there were numerous cases of rape, livestock theft and just the level of crime was too high. Through our efforts the situation has stabilized, and the crime level has decreased.”
“When councillor Hlalele and I decided to support this initiative, we didn’t think this day would come. A day to award and celebrate these brave men and women who work tirelessly to make sure that the community of Turfontein is safe. My role and involvement as a chief in the community include issues of rural safety, police participation, and school development. That is why today is such an important day to me, to give encourage and more support to the community patrol team,” Mohale said.
