Police Minister Bheki Cele aptly compared the murder rate and crime in general to a “war zone”. The reality is the failing ANC government has allowed this situation to flourish because they simply do not have a plan to restore order and keep our people safe.
The current ANC national government has failed to reduce crime in South Africa. Gauteng has been identified as one of the provinces with a concerning number of crime hotspots.
Areas such as Jeppe, Tembisa and Alexandra have all shown crime is on the rise; the average growth rate within these Gauteng areas is between 20% to 42%.
Once the DA takes over Gauteng, we have identified four areas that need improvement; the Four U’s: Under-resourcing, Under-training, Under-equipped and Under-staffing. Each of these areas is critical in running a clean functional SAPS.
I recently engaged the people of Ivory Park, one of the most unsafe Townships in Gauteng, and the residents expressed their frustration with the incompetence of SAPS, the corruption within Police and the absence of professionalism.
The ANC has failed the people of Gauteng and South Africa on many fronts but their failure to keep its citizens safe is its key failure, which I am committed to fixing so that the people of Gauteng feel safe and investors feel comfortable building their businesses in the province.
* Solly Msimanga is the Tshwane mayor, as well as the DA candidate for Gauteng premier.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.