It has been a long and arduous eight-year battle by the Democratic Alliance to get an additional police station built in Chatty, but the day has finally arrived, with Premier Oscar Mabuyane announcing the station has been opened in his State of the Province Address last week.

I am delighted that the concerns of the people of the Northern Areas have finally been heard and actioned.

I proposed the establishment of the Chatty Police Station back in 2013, on behalf of the Northern Areas community, during a sitting of the portfolio committee of safety and security in the Eastern Cape Legislature.

An additional station was needed as there had been a massive expansion in population over the last decade in what was then the Bethelsdorp policing area. Only having two police stations serving the Northern Areas was simply not good enough.

The DA has been at the forefront of making this station a reality, with the DA-led coalition government of Nelson Mandela Bay making the land available for the station’s construction back in 2017.

I would also like to thank my colleague, the former MMC for safety in Nelson Mandela Bay, DA-councillor John Best for all his assistance in bringing this project to fruition.

The establishment of the Chatty police station will greatly assist in restoring a climate of safety and security in the northern areas, where the people are subject to a climate of lawlessness.

Children playing in the street run the risk of being caught in the crossfire of gangsters. These children, along with families, need a nurturing environment, they should not be forced to live in a war zone.

The Democratic Alliance will monitor the effectiveness of this new station in dealing with the high rates of crime in the Northern Areas.

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