Port Elizabeth - No military will be deployed in the Eastern Cape in Nelson Mandela Bay, Premier Oscar Mabuyane said on Tuesday.
On his visit to the city's northern areas, Mabuyane was accompanied by Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Liziwe Ntshinga and Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor, Mongameli Bobani.
Speaking at Strelitzia Primary School in Bethelsdorp, Mabuyane said the police made good progress in eradicating gangsterism in the province.
"There can't be peace and security in a place where our people have to run away from guns. We are declaring war on gangsterism, crime and drugs. We are going to remove any stumbling block against the people and our government, especially crime. I was concerned to see young people loitering instead of being at school,", said Mabuyane.
The roadshow with Mabuyane kicked off at the 10111 Centre where the premier requested Bonani to ensure that cameras fitted at this centre were utilised to fight crime by the metro.
Mabuyane also visited schools and engaged community members.
Strelitzia Primary School closed its doors last week due to safety concerns following a suspected gang-shooting near the school premises. It was not the first time shootings occurred close to the school.
In May, rival gangs were shooting at each other at the school gate and entered the school premises. At the time, Principal Clifton Jantjies said it was not uncommon and that the school was in dire need of fencing to safeguard the children from gangsters.
In the last two months, gang warfare saw the closure of several other schools in the city's northern areas after a spate of killings.
Chairperson of Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security in the Province promised to fence for Strelitzia Primary by next week. The visit was preceded by an overnight operation that led to the recovery of eight illegal firearms, 14 rounds of ammunition and 6000 mandrax tablets.
"Fighting crime and eradicating gangsterism in our province is one of [the] key priorities of the sixth administration. Crime affects our daily lives, development and even business. We are here to work with you, not only lead but support you. Let's do operations and parallel, a socio-economic approach of engaging communities, CPF and business," said Mabuyane.
Meanwhile, Ntshinga said there was a long term plan to set up a permanent Anti- Gang Unit to be established in the province.
"At the moment we have called up members from various clusters. We are also delighted with the twelve vehicles that will boost our visibility and reaction times", she said.