CAPE TOWN – Cape Flats residents say they are tired of Police Minister Bheki Cele’s “empty promises” after the minister paid another visit to Khayelitsha.
This followed the killing of five people on the March 14 and after a further six people were gunned down in the area on Sunday afternoon.
Last week, the minister made his way to Khayelitsha and Manenberg to assess the situation after 13 people were gunned down in both those communities on the previous weekend.
Khayelitsha community activist and member of the Kuyasa Neighbourhood Watch, Thulani Dasa, says that the community is fed-up with the minister’s “political rhetoric”.
“What he fails to tell us is how many convictions have taken place for these murders since his last visit? Because until there are convictions, all his cheap rhetoric remains hollow to many of us who live in fear of crime in Khayelitsha,” he says.
Dusa accuses the minister of underfunding the police and increasing the VIP protection unit funds.
“His incessant imbizos are a waste of time and ridiculous, especially when you note that this is the same minister who voted to cut the policing budget down by R47 billion.
“Minister Cele increased VIP protection by R1.4 billion so he and his comrades in corruption can continue to live lavish lifestyles with more protection in their gated mansions,” he said.
Dusa says that the community wants the police service to reverse the current budget cuts, increase police deployment in crime hotspots, and bring back the specialised units to help capacitate detectives and prosecutors.
Meanwhile, the Khayelitsha Development Forum has asked the police and the City of Cape Town to capacitate community forums and neighbourhood watches with resources so that communities could help take back their streets.
“We need things such as jackets, torches, batons and radios. These are actually the bare minimum considering that these people do not receive stipends. We are, in fact, calling on businesses as well to consider putting out stipends,” they said.
IOL