This marks the second time the army was called in to stabilise gang violence in the province since 2019.
The City of Cape Town has weighed in on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement to deploy South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops to gang-ridden areas in the Western Cape.This marks the second time the army was called in to stabilise gang violence in the province since 2019.Ramaphosa used his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday night to highlight organised crime as the most immediate threat to the country’s democracy, society and economic development.
City of Cape Town Mayco Member for Safety and Security JP Smith said stabilisation is not enough to curb gang violence in the Western Cape, adding that the province needed more convictions.
Smith said while he supported all measures aimed at reducing crime, the army deployment in 2019 proved that short-term stabilisation was insufficient to tackle the root causes of gang violence.“I demand that the criminals terrorising communities in the Western Cape are arrested and successfully prosecuted,” said Smith.”It cannot be that case dockets go missing, cases are withdrawn, or investigations go cold, resulting in criminals never seeing their day in court.”Smith called on President Ramaphosa to focus on long-term solutions to tackle gang violence in the province.