Nearly 60 people in the past few days have been shot in the Cape Flats, with at least more than 30 dead. We extend our condolences in another week of horror.
We must not tolerate or normalise communities being warzones, where children die in hails of bullets while playing outside and going to school.
Safety is a human right in our country, and we will not be overrun by gang lords.
Last August, National Government, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Western Cape Provincial Government made a pivotal step in a Memorandum of Understanding towards better, more effective cooperation in the fight against crime, particularly in Cape Town. Its implementation must now be fast tracked.
In the Parliamentary Committee on Police, the DA will fight to see:
- A complete revamp of the Anti-Gang Unit, which is heavily understaffed and under resourced. SAPS’ K9 Unit Cape Town only has two working anti-narcotics dogs and its Flying Squad only has half the capacity it needs.
- Better support for police on the ground through physical radios in coordinating responses, which the City has offered SAPS numerous times.
- Targeting gang lords through cooperation with the South African Reserve Service (SARS) in seizing funds made illegally.
- Devolving gang violence investigations and gunfire cases to the Province, which has a more complex understanding of ground operations.
- Establishing a task team between Metros, SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority in ensuring gang lords are convicted.
This devastating scourge must end, and with the cooperation of SAPS, the DA will see it through.