The era of gangs and some individuals becoming prominent in communities will soon end.
This was according to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who was speaking at the City Hall during a stakeholder engagement held ahead of a new agreement reached between the DA-led local government, the Western Cape government, the City and the SAPS to enhance safety and security.
A memorandum of understanding, which includes the development of plans, interventions and infrastructure, will be signed on Friday, paving the way for the collaboration work to commence in three weeks.
It also includes the implementation of the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy (ICVPS).
The agreement does not involve the devolution of police powers, which the DA has been advocating for years, the police made clear.
Mchunu said the latest crime statistics painted a bleak picture of Cape Town as it contributes to more than 50% of crimes in the Western Cape. The national crime statistics are expected to be formally presented on Friday.
“There are people called fee collectors for buildings they never built. People who just emerge and want protection fees, we want each and every one of those people to be profiled and monitored in order to stop them in their tracks.
“With these collaborations we have the capacity to do so. South Africa needs stability and this will flow from low levels of crime and violence. This collaboration will be heeding the call (from) communities such as those on the Cape Flats where children, women and other residents are killed.
“Criminal gangs have strengthened themselves, they have become prominent. Some are even calling themselves Boko Harams.
They have been left ... for months and years, they are feared but now that era is going to end very soon.
You cannot be known for threats, holding communities at ransom or for killing people,” he said.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said the Government of National Unity (GNU) had paved the way for a new era of co-operation and collaboration.
He expressed happiness with Mchunu’s leadership style, saying there was political willingness, something they had never had.
“We didn’t need to start from scratch, as we had begun developing the Safer Cities Agreement about two and a half years earlier. We knew what the agreement needed and were able to finalise it quickly. In the past, the climate might not have been ready for formal agreements between the City and SAPS. However, the GNU has paved the way for a new era,” said Smith.
Provincial police commissioner Thembisile Patekile said: “As SAPS in the province we are eager to use the resources from the City and province. We appreciate the land that has been given so far and the land in Mfuleni that will also be availed. The community also needs to work with us and we want the experts or academies to engage us ... in this fight against crime.”
Cape Times