Cape Town - The DA in the Western Cape has urged Police Minister Bheki Cele to follow its lead in crime-fighting strategies as he delivered a crime report that painted a picture of an extremely violent “bloodbath” in South Africa.
The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government noted that while crime still remained high, the two spheres of government had made strides in lowering the statistics and even getting some areas off top 20 lists.
Despite those strategies, Nyanga still holds the unenviable number one spot for contact crimes nationally, after an increase from 923 to 1 077, a count difference of 154 or 16.7%.
Premier Alan Winde said: “I am deeply concerned that murders in Nyanga and Philippi East did not continue their downward trend. But at the same time, I am encouraged by the downward trend in the other hot spot areas, once again proving our deployment of Leap (Law Enforcement Advancement Plan) members to murder hot spots in Cape Town continues to bear fruit.”
He said a lot more still needs to be done. He has asked Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety Reagen Allen to examine the data and meet with crime fighters in Nyanga to understand the factors affecting the statistics.
Winde said: “We will analyse the numbers, apply our data-led and evidence-based approach as outlined in the Western Cape Safety Plan, to see what more we need to do with our partner the City of Cape Town, as well as SAPS and other law enforcement agencies, to keep pushing down murders and making our communities safer and more prosperous. By using data and evidence we need to look at where we can further improve our policing strategy.”
Mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, said Leap officers deployed in the City’s most dangerous communities had for the second consecutive quarter shown their impact on reducing crime, and confirmed the City’s case to the national government for more localised policing power.
He welcomed the fact that after Leap was deployed to Philippi East early in 2022, that station had dropped from the top 30 crime zones, that over 12 months from October 2021 to September 2022, Gugulethu saw a 30.6% decrease in murders, and that in the same period Delft oversaw a 17.4% dip in murders, with contact crime also down by 12.1%.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: “It is clear that devolution of policing has become an even more urgent need. We call on Police Minister Bheki Cele to respond to our request made earlier this year,” Hill-Lewis said.
Allen added: “These figures show why additional boots on the ground are needed.” He hailed Leap officers as “undoubtedly making a significant difference”. He said South Africa needed a serious police minister.
DA MP Kevin Mileham described the report as Cele’s “bloodbath” and a “stain on Ramaphosa’s presidency”.
WHILE the country is in crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa is gallivanting with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace and going cap-in-hand asking for more “investment”, ostensibly to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Without a doubt, South African taxpayers will be financially burdened for many years as these loans will have to be repaid.
While the president is abroad, South Africans are left behind to contend with stage 4 load shedding, and nationwide union and taxi strikes.
Unemployment levels are at an all-time high of around 34%, the economy is on life support and those involved in corruption and state capture are still walking free.
To add insult to injury, the latest quarterly stats released yesterday showed almost all contact crimes, including murder, sexual offences and robbery increased by a combined average of 18.5%.
These are indeed South Africa’s darkest days and Nero is fiddling while Rome is burning.
Ramaphosa is far removed from the reality of the situation in this country. How different is this to Marie Antoinette at the time of the French Revolution, who said, “Let them eat cake”, when told the peasants had no bread?
One cannot be more disappointed in the ANC and the government than now. Worse is that Ramaphosa has been touted as a contender for president of the governing party for another term.
His re-appointment would effectively mean another five years of the above conditions, which would plunge South Africa into further ruin.
One must be blind not to see the destruction Ramaphosa’s five wasted years has caused both the country and his party.
The ANC of our beloved Madiba is no more. Its formations like the ANC Youth league and ANC Women’s League have all but collapsed while the once mighty tripartite alliance has grown estranged.
Can South Africa afford another five years of Ramaphosa, who has been a failure on every front?
Unless ANC delegates to the party’s election conference next month bring about a significant change in the party’s leadership, South Africans can expect another five years of misery. We can but hope that this will be avoided.
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