KwaZulu-Natal Premier Mr Sihle Zikalala has called on society and men in particular to take up the cudgels against the abuse of women and children.
"Violence against women and children requires multi-faceted responses and commitment from all stakeholders, including government, citizens, civil society and business,” the Premier said.
The Premier was speaking during the Provincial Executive Council’s visit to uMlalazi Municipality as part of Operation Sukuma Sakhe, the KZN government's platform for the public to engage directly with the Executive Council on developmental issues.
To respond to the scourge of abuse against vulnerable groups, Mr Zikalala said, the provincial government had developed a comprehensive action plan which, among others, calls for society to move away from treating gender based with indifference or as a trivial crime.
"Already, we have a team of senior government officials formed to identify hotspots that pose a higher risk to young people getting physically abused or harming those around them," the Premier said.
"We implore each and every one of us to become a social activist; we must alert the police if we notice instances in our neighbourhoods of women and children abuse," the Premier added.
Before the community engagement, the Premier, the MEC for Arts, Culture, Sport and Recreation, Ms Bongi Sithole-Moloi and the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr Bheki Ntuli partook in a road block at the Nkwalini area.
The Premier described the road block as a resounding success, adding that three people had been arrested for being in possession of two bags of dagga.
More than 10 tickets were also issued for various traffic offences.
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