Dear Editor
The Democratic Alliance (DA) condemns an attempted robbery attack on three of its Members of Parliament responsible for police oversight in Philippi yesterday afternoon.
Ian Cameron, Lisa Schickerling and Nicholas Gotsell were returning from an oversight to the police training college in Philippi, when the incident happened.
Gotsell was hospitalised, but is not in a critical condition, and Cameron sustained minor injuries. Cameron was able to act quickly and in self defence to prevent further injury to any of them.
This incident is a portrayal of the out-of-control crime that South Africans face on a daily basis and no-one is exempt from it. The DA has long called on successive ANC ministers to ensure that policing in areas such as Philippi received priority and we will continue to do so. Policing is a national function.
We wish to at this point thank the City of Cape Town Metro, provincial government, and the police where they were available, as well as the medical response team, for their quick and effective response in providing assistance to our MPs.
We trust that law enforcement will bring the perpetrators to account, but we again call on the Minister of Police to urgently ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to areas that are riddled with criminal activities to prevent such incidents and future loss of life.
Regards
George Michalakis MP
DA Chief Whip in Parliament