9.5 C
London
Friday, March 29, 2024

S. African gang-infested communities question effectiveness of army deployment

CAPE TOWN, Aug. 20,
(Xinhua/GNA) – Gang-infested communities in and around Cape Town have started
to question the effectiveness of army deployment as murder rate remained high,
authorities have said.

If communities do
not feel safer, then the South African Defence Force (SANDF) and the South
African Police Service (SAPS) are not fulfilling their role and their mandate,
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said.

Releasing the latest
update on crime statistics in gang-infested areas in and around Cape Town,
Winde said residents are a far cry from feeling safe after the deployment of
troops in the fight against gang violence.

The metro region of
the Western Cape saw 34 murders last weekend, with 21 deaths as a result of
shootings, six as a result of stabbings, and seven as a result of other means,
according to Winde.

Although the weekend
murder rate has declined from 47 murders recorded in the previous weekend,
“this is of little comfort when 34 families are currently grieving the
loss of a loved one,” said Winde.

“We must be
working towards zero, and nothing more,” he stressed.

On July 18, the
SANDF began deploying troops in parts of the Cape Town metro where gangs had
spiraled out of control. 

The troops were
deployed to conduct cordon and search, observation, foot and vehicle patrols as
well as to provide air support for police, with the aim of reducing crime in 10
specified hot spots. With a large number of the deaths last weekend taking
place in these hot spots, “we have to question whether the promises made
to the residents of the Western Cape by the police at the time of the
deployment, are being kept,” Winde said.

The SAPS, due to
their poor management, have lost control of the fight against crime, he
claimed.

The provincial
government will receive a report from the SAPS on crime and safety operations
and the use of the SANDF, said Winde.

“We want to
understand what the police, working with the army, are doing to prevent crime
and curb violence,” he said.

Minister of Police
Bheki Cele has been criticized for turning a blind eye to a request for a fully
resourced and functioning police service with an effective and committed
management in the Western Cape.

Confronted by rising
crimes, the Western Cape’s police force is dramatically under-resourced
compared to other provinces run by the ruling African National Congress (ANC),
according to Winde.

The Western Cape,
the only province run by an opposition party, has requested more police
officers but to no avail.

While one officer
must protect 375 people on average nationally, in the Western Cape, the ratio
is 1:509.The opposition Democratic Alliance, which administers the Western
Cape, accuses the ANC of turning a blind eye to rising crimes in the province
in a bid to weaken the DA’s control. 

GNA

Latest news

Related news