Cape Town - Western Cape Community Safety MEC Dan Plato and his Social Development counterpart Albert Fritz have teamed up to get youths in the gang-infested suburb of Manenberg back into the classroom.
Flanked by members of the police, neighbourhood watch, community policing forums and officials from their department, the MECs went on a walkabout through the suburbs’ most notorious flats, notorious for gang violence and gun battles.
Plato said their aim was to assess and help address the problems of crime and drug abuse, particularly among the youth.
The MEC said they spent the morning engaging with parents and informing them of their roles and responsibility towards their children’s development and education.
Questioning youths they found walking in the streets and sitting on street corners, the MECs encouraged youths to go back to school to get their qualifications.
“These youths are all vulnerable to gangs and we need to target them now before they embark on a life of crime.”
Plato said parents complained that their children were being pulled into the clutches of gangs and drug lords and that they were struggling to control them.
“These children sit at home without any hope and without any future. We visited the most notorious gang areas, including the turf of the Hard Livings and the Junky Funky kids in Manenberg. We were shown an open field where gangs shoot from one side of the field targeting rivals on the opposite side. All this happens with kids all over the place.”
The MEC added they were particularly concerned about the scores of youths - as young as six and seven - who were roaming the streets unattended instead of being in class.
He was concerned that Manenberg parents were complicit in destroying the future of their children by enabling them to stay at home.
“Various programmes exist within both the Department of Community Safety and the Department of Social Development which provide alternative opportunities for youth at risk to help them rise above current circumstances to improve their lives and help create a better future.”
Fritz said he had been taken aback by the number of youths they found outside the schools.
“What struck me the most was the lack of parental responsibility. Children were left at home to their own devices and in most cases the parents were home as well. They have no control over their children. We met girls as young as 15 and 16, either with babies in their arms or pregnant.”
But the MEC said he was encouraged by the fact that many youths gave their names and contact details to officials, all eager to attend FET colleges and gain skills or trades.
“Some looked like they were in gangs, but they were willing to go to study and our job is to help them.”
Fritz said he also encouraged Manenberg youths to join the youth café in Nyanga Junction where they could get access to job and study opportunities.
Both MECs conceded that a handful of people were opposed to their visit, but the majority of residents, and youths in particular, were open to getting assistance from the government.
Cape Argus