Voting stations in KwaZulu-Natal have been thoroughly accessed and categorised according to security risks, provincial transport, community safety and liaison MEC Sipho Hlomuka said on Monday.

Addressing the media in Durban, Hlomuka said all 4974 voting stations in the province will be closely monitored.

“The fact that three major political parties had their manifesto launches here in KwaZulu-Natal tells you that the province will be the hive of political activities. We have also observed some sporadic incidents of violent public protests and we caution our people not to deprive others of their constitutional rights to vote by barricading roads and destroying properties.”

“Areas such as the R74 in Muden, where a truck was torched last week Friday, will be given more attention.”

“Areas such as KwaNongoma, which are known for political intolerance, will receive maximum attention. This is one area that has of late been experiencing the killing of councillors and it is one of the declared hotspot areas. Our conclusion is that KwaNongoma and other parts of Zululand still want to categorise themselves as no-go zones and we must resist any attempts that will take us back,” he said.

Hlomuka said the plan included:

• Additional deployments in hotspot areas
• Deployment of police in all voting districts
• Deployment of more than 17000 police and other security personnel.
• Deployment of 1008 social crime prevention volunteers from the department of community safety and liaison.
• Ensure effective monitoring of all voting stations.
• Placing roving teams on high alert to respond to emergency cases.
• Setting up special courts to deal with cases speedily.
• Activate political parties through the Multi-Party-Political Intervention Committee to respond to threats and possible incidents of instability.

“Judging by the information at our disposal and the comprehensive plan that has been developed by this multi-disciplinary team of various agencies, we can safely say as the province we are ready to deliver peaceful, free, and fair elections,” said Hlomuka.