Pic: Siyabonga Sesant
The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape says it’s pleased that the party’s call for the deployment of national specialised crime fighting units to the crime-ridden and gang-infested Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) is now under consideration by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.
In a media statement on Sunday, the DA said its provincial leader Andrew Whitfield wrote to the minister on 2 October 2023 and finally received a response on 29 December 2023 – nearly 90 days later.
In his response letter, minister Cele said that the provincial commissioner in the Eastern Cape had “deployed additional resources to intervene and address violent crime in the Nelson Mandela Bay district”.
Cele said the additional resources “had made a positive impact on crime recorded [in the area], based on the 2023/24 first and second quarter crime statistics as compared to the same period of the previous financial year”.
He did note, however, that the request for the deployment of national specialised units was “currently under consideration”.
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Whitfield said it’s clear that specialist skills and resources need to be deployed to NMB “in order to deal decisively with this bloody war which has left residents living in fear”.
He’s asked the minister to, among other proposed measures, double the number of members allocated to the anti-gang unit, deploy the SAPS national intervention unit or special task force to the northern areas of Gqeberha and increase police visibility.
Whitfield also said while they welcome the minister’s response, he’s disappointed that it took so long.
“What is of great concern though is that it took Cele more than 90 days to respond to our letter about the biggest crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay,” Whitfield said in a statement.
“We will now take the matter up in the police portfolio committee to ensure that the minister gives urgent feedback on progress made.
“The DA hopes that this commitment is not just another example of Cele paying lip service while the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay live in fear for their lives and are being held hostage by violent and ruthless gangsters.”
