In her welcoming address, Lt Gen Ntshinga said, “We are mandated by the Constitution of the country to fight crime and to do so effectively and with impact” “Fighting crime is a responsibility we cannot delegate, but at least we can share it with you” she ” further added “I am standing here to rally community support for this great multi-disciplinary crime combating initiative,” she further appealed to the PE community to work with the police and to stop attacking police on duty.

The objectives of operation Fiela is to stamp the authority of the state and reclaim our space as you know this area is gang infested. We want to see the impact of our operations.

The Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Policing, Major General Swart outlined the purpose of the Launch and indicated that the multidisciplinary approach operations will focus on various problem areas including illicit drugs trafficking and contraband, human trafficking, unlicensed businesses, illegal firearms and ammunition, liquor control, the control of second hands goods, as well as undocumented migrants. The operations will be conducted at all the 22 clusters in the Eastern Cape.

During his keynote address, Mr Peter said “Today we are re-launching Operation Fiela II – a multi-disciplinary approach which is inclusive of social needs cluster and justice cluster. We are happy that EC Saps has identified Nelson Mandela Metro as a hot spot because some of our people experience gangsterism. We have to deal with these gangsters because they are a threat to our people’ peace in our community. We are also happy that Saps has delivered this substantial number of vehicles to our stations like KwaDwesi, Motherwell and other stations. These vehicles will assist in the attainment of the goals of this operation.

Ten vehicles were handed over during the launch. Several School drill squads kept the audience to their feet during their spectacular performances.