A LACK of service delivery and poverty are the reasons why the Western Cape is South Africa’s murder capital, says the Social Justice Coalition (SJC).
The SJC’s head of security and justice, Chumile Sali, told the Cape Times that crime in the top 10 murder hot spots in the country – Nyanga (Cape Town), Gugulethu (Cape Town), Harare (Cape Town), Khayelitsha (Cape Town), Delft (Cape Town), Kraaifontein (Cape Town), Mfuleni (Cape Town), Inanda (Durban), Umlazi (Durban) and Bethelsdorp (Port Elizabeth) – is directly related to the communities battling unemployment and a lack of basic service delivery.
“All hot spots have the same thing in common: they are poor black townships with no street lights and proper sanitation,” Sali said.
Cape Metro Health Forum chairperson Damaris Kiewitz echoed Sali’s sentiments, saying the biggest issues affecting Cape Town’s hot spots was unemployment and hunger.
“In our communities, we don’t have enough schools. The state needs to do introspection and not just add additional police,” said Kiewitz.
According to Stats SA, Nyanga has a population of about 58 000 people and about 55 percent of people aged 15 to 64 are employed.
About 74 percent of households have a monthly income of R3 200 or less.
In the long term, he said, police would work with the Department of Community Safety and the provincial government to ensure a reduction in crime.
Western Cape police commissioner Thembinkosi Jula said yesterday he was hopeful steps taken this year would bear fruit and see a reduction at 30 “hot spot” stations, which collectively contribute to 52 of crime hot spots in the province.
The two areas with the most murders were Nyanga and Gugulethu, with 279 and 184 murders respectively during the last financial year. Jula said the “hot spot” police stations, including those in Bishop Lavis, Nyanga, Kraaifontein, Gugulethu, Harare, Delft andKhayelitsha had seen 790 additional police officers deployed there since August 9.
“In Nyanga we’ve added 41 members; in Gugulethu 41 members; in Harare 41 members; in Khayelitsha we’ve added 37 members; in Kraaifontein we’ve added 47 members; in Delft we’ve added 18 members; and in Mfuleni we’ve added 33 members.
He said the additional police officers deployed at these hot spots had brought the capacity at these precincts to 90 percent.
“We (must) remember that Nyanga, like other areas on the (Cape) Flats, is a highly populated area where there is no infrastructure. These are some of the factors that are going to be impeding us from being able to patrol in most of the areas that are problematic in Nyanga, but we are going to ensure that we turn the situation around.”
“The 32 deaths that happened in 31 days in Delft; we are aware of the situation. It happened as a flare-up.”
Jula said Blikkiesdorp, the City's “temporary relocation area” in Delft, established in 2007, had become a haven for gangsters.
The City’s Social Housing Unit, established in 2012 to ensure tenants comply with the conditions of their lease agreements, revealed that in the first six months of this year, 458 complaints received via the City were responded to.
A total of 430 compliance notices were made, along with 63 arrests, of which the bulk were for drug-related offences, and 321 fines totalling R248 550 for various by-law transgressions issued.
Mayco member for human settlements Benedicta van Minnen said affordable housing was planned in the CBD over the next five months.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said while all categories of contact crime were down, including murder, he found common assault “worrying”.