The only solution to curb the violent spates of shooting in Gauteng is to adopt the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Community Safety Bill, which will assist in improving police intelligence to be able to investigate and curb these incidents.
The Bill would give effect to an integrated approach to curb crime. It will include all stakeholders in the law enforcement agencies, such as the South African Police Service (SAPS), metro police, Community Policing Forum (CPF), security companies, neighbourhood watches and street patrollers.
Yesterday, a further 20 people were shot dead during these unexplainable and vicious attacks. Sixteen people were killed in a gang feud between two illegal mining gangs in Soweto, and the other four were killed in Lenasia.
This is the fifth incident in Gauteng within a week which makes the public wonder whether it is by an organized crime syndicate.
The Bill will also regulate the Gauteng Provincial Government’s powers and functions regarding its oversight function over the police services.
The residents of Gauteng no longer have confidence in our police system, and it is through this Bill that will rebuild the trust between residents and the SAPS.
Through the DA’s #GautengPoliceWatch campaign, we will be engaging with the police and community members to establish better ways that will assist the police in preventing and fighting crime.
The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko, must liaise with the Gauteng Provincial SAPS Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, and the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele to deploy the public order police in the province. They should also deploy the under-utilised police resources in Gauteng to ensure increased police visibility in areas where there is an increase in crime.
We will continue to monitor the progress concerning the allocation of additional SAPS resources in Gauteng by Minister Cele. It is long overdue, as for far too long, the DA’s plea for allocation of additional resources for SAPS has been ignored.
The DA would like to send its deepest condolences to all the families that lost their loved ones because of these shootings.
We also urge the community members not to be discouraged but to continue to speak up and share information with the police. Together we can win the fight against crime.