Police Minister Senzo Mchunu during a community safety stakeholder engagement session held in Hanover Park on Saturday 20 July. Photo: Rasaad Adams
In his first engagement with Western Cape residents as the newly-appointed Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu was urged to not follow the same path of so called “empty promises” as his predecessor, with disgruntled residents, particularly of the gang-ridden Cape Flats, calling on him to put an end to the ongoing gang wars.
The Police Ministry, led by Mchunu, embarked on a community safety stakeholders’ engagement campaign this past week, and visited crime-ridden areas in the Western- and Eastern Cape.
The Western Cape leg of the campaign was held on Saturday 20 July at Voorspoed Primary School in Hanover Park, Cape Town.
Mchunu was joined by his two deputies, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and his provincial counterparts as well as the chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Policing, Ian Cameron.
Stakeholders representing neighbourhood watches, community policing forums (CPF) and other organisations across the province echoed the same calls, which included the lack of police visibility, the state of local police stations, the police’s lack of proper working equipment and the general relationship between the police and communities.
Understaffed police stations and dysfunctional police vehicles also formed part of the heated discussion.
Several residents, particularly of the Cape Flats, stressed the relevance of such engagements between communities and police leadership, saying that former Police Minister Bheki Cele made “nothing but empty promises.”
A representative of Manenburg’s CPF, Vernon Visagie, told the ministerial panel residents were tired of their pleas falling on deaf ears.
“In May this year we had a similar discussion with Minister Cele in this very same hall,” he said.
“Promises were made about how boots on the ground would be deployed.
“We warned you there would be a gang flare-up in Manenberg. To date, we are 50 murders too late.
“Manenberg has become the hub and recruitment centre of gang bosses, (whose minions are then) distributed to other parts of the Western Cape. If you can solve Manenberg you solve half of the Western Cape’s gang problem.
“Let us not blow hot air. Let this become not just another imbizo and we walk out of here thinking we are satisfied that they have listened to us. In the meantime people are still dying.”
Responding to the calls made by residents that more officers be deployed to understaffed stations, Masemola said a new batch of officers will be deployed only by the end of this year.
“At the moment there are no available personnel.
“There are currently students undergoing training at colleges, and who will graduate towards the end of this year.
“Also note that from 2022 up to December last year this province received 3 681 personnel, and there are currently 1 061 undergoing training who will be deployed across the province.
“We will prioritise where the shortages are.”
Mchunu emphasised that the tackling of gang turfs and subsequent violence will require collective effort, involving all spheres of government.
“We will have engagements with the provincial leadership through the MEC for Community Safety’s office as well as the City of Cape Town.
“At the top of our agenda will be resources needed by our officers to fight crime. We cannot allow lawlessness to continue in the way in which it is happening.
“The fundamental grievance of the people of the Western Cape is that they are being subjected to all forms of crime by the activities of gangs. This cannot be the reality of people.”
He further vowed that talks would be held between his ministry and the National Treasury about efficient budget allocations for the Western Cape.
Rasaad Adams
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