Western Cape officials have hit back at police minister Bheki Cele for comments made during a campaign trail in Mitchells Plain yesterday. Residents took the opportunity to vent their frustrations, stating that gangsterism, unemployment and drugs are among the issues driving crime in area. According to the community, active CPF and NHW groups have been more successful than the police.
Cele accused provincial officials of lying about the amount of resources dedicated to the province, saying that province in fact receives the most funding and is the first province with a designated Anti-gang unit. Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz says dire under-resourcing is hampering crime-fighting efforts, a claim the minister denies.
In a statement WC premier Alan Winde detailed errors in ministers’ claims. Winde highlighted that provincial police battle several concerns including; inequitable police deployment to hotspot areas, cases being struck off the court ole due to insufficiently trained SAPS members, an intense DNA backlog, overloaded detectives and a lack of resourced and vehicles at police stations.
While Cele called for greater collaboration between all crime fighting structures, Winde urged the minister to “stop the electioneering, and rather commit to properly resource the poorest communities of the Western Cape”.
VOCfm
