Durban — KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has unveiled violence-free zones in Newlands East which aim to boost the government’s fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
During Thursday’s unveiling, the premier praised volunteers who created artworks in the violence-free zones while interacting with GBV survivors.
The premier was accompanied by Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane, who pledged to strengthen the facilities by providing services that will monitor and quell violence against women and children.
Also present at the event was GBVF ambassador Ayanda Msweli, who decried the violence against women and children, urging men to refrain from perpetrating it.
Dube-Ncube said the launch was part of a project which is in the Inanda, KwaMashu and Newlands East areas.
“The violence-free zones have also been introduced to the communities of ward 11, and are the zones that have been designated for the GBV victims. If you are feeling threatened or being violated, you can run to these violence-free zones.
“What you get here is that you will see these zones by the painting, which is known to the community members. There has been door-to-door information to all the communities in these violence-free zones,” the premier said.
She added that the KZN government was trying to enhance the violence-free zones because they have been designed by volunteers without proper resources.
“As a government, we believe that working with the MECs we can enhance this work done by the communities – through working with the communities, such as by installing the cameras, the panic buttons, the lighting that need to come here, the clearing of the verges by the municipality, the enforcement of the by-laws. So that the area can really be active in terms of being a violence-free zone.”
She expressed gratitude for the work done by the volunteers here, and the communities themselves.
“We want to say to the volunteers: we know that you are not getting paid for the work that you do, but we are here as a government to work with you, and support you for the work you do,” said Dube-Ncube.
Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane said: “From the Department of Health’s perspective we will be facilitating a process to get a CCMDD (Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution) site, which is a site where people can access their chronic medication, which will have a number of requirements in terms of safety – the kind of facility that should be had – before it is accredited.
“We appreciate that kind of a commitment or initiative because it assists us as the Department of Health to reduce the queues in the clinics and hospitals that we have, because half the time the people in our hospitals are there just to pick up their medication.
“But they end up waiting for close to four or five hours just to pick up medication. If we move them away from those areas to CCMDD sites they can pick their medication at their own leisure time, but it will also decompress our own facilities,” said Simelane.
Daily News