Eastern Cape: The Murder Capital of South Africa

Dear Editor

The latest provincial crime statistics, released this morning, have shown that the Eastern Cape remains the murder capital of South Africa. Violent crime is spiralling out of control, shattering lives, crippling investment, and killing jobs.

The statistics for the past six months revealed that 2 615 people were murdered between July and December, an average of more than 14 lives lost every day.

The Eastern Cape has the highest murder ratio in the country, meaning you are more likely to be murdered in our province than anywhere else in the country. No wonder six of our police stations among the top 30 for murder nationwide.

Businesses are closing, jobs are disappearing, and law-abiding citizens are living in fear because criminals operate without consequence. Kidnappings, hijackings, and organised crime syndicates are flourishing, and SAPS officers are being forced to react instead of prevent crime due to a critically under-resourced crime intelligence unit.

The Democratic Alliance has been at the forefront of championing for additional resources to assist police on the ground. Whilst the DA appreciates that the National Intervention Unit was deployed to the province following our insistence, this alone will not dismantle the criminal syndicates, we need crime intelligence to be capacitated.

Following an appeal from myself to the Chairperson of the National Police Portfolio Committee, DA MP Ian Cameron, we have received a commitment that the committee will be visiting the province to conduct oversight. The committee will also be interrogating the Eastern Cape’s crime intelligence capacity and resources.

I have also tabled a motion in the Eastern Cape Legislature demanding ringfenced funding for intelligence-gathering tools, including:

• Grabbers (to intercept criminal communications)
• ShotSpotter (to detect and respond to gunfire)
• Drones, dashcams, bodycams, and license-plate recognition systems

We are calling for the Community Safety budget to be reprioritised, cutting PR and report-writing costs to fund crime-fighting measures that deliver real results.

Community Safety MEC, Xolile Nqatha, should hang his head in shame for presiding over a Department that doesn’t spend a cent on crime fighting technology in a province that is the murder capital of South Africa.

Crime is killing the Eastern Cape, it is killing people, businesses, and hope. The ANC’s failure to prioritise crime intelligence has turned this province into a playground for criminals, while brave SAPS officers are left fighting a war without the tools they need.

The DA will not back down. We will continue to fight to ensure that the Eastern Cape receives the necessary interventions required during our time of crisis. The people of the Eastern Cape deserve more than fear, they deserve dignity, security, and the right to live without being hunted by criminals.

Regards

Yusuf Cassim MPL
DA Shadow MEC for Community Safety