Pretoria residents are considering taking legal action against the African National Congress-led (ANC) metro council following a high number of criminal incidents in their neighbourhoods, the Freedom Front Plus said on Saturday.
”Pretoria residents are languishing under the crime wave while the ANC forbids them to secure their neighbourhoods by fencing off their residential areas,” spokesperson and councillor Conrad Beyers said.
He said numerous criminal incidents, including murders, could have been prevented had the ANC not implemented a ban on street closures and erection of fences around neighbourhoods in 2002.
”Statistics held by residents and security companies show that crime decreases dramatically when a residential area is fenced off.
”With this moratorium, criminals have easy access to neighbourhoods … hence the high incidents of murders.”
Conrad said his party demands that the ”moratorium be lifted with immediate effect”.
”If it is not lifted immediately, the time for legal action against the metro has arrived … with residents, both black and white, claiming their constitutional rights to safety and security.”
Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramokgopa’s office was not immediately available for comment. — Sapa