Premier Alan Winde has visited Manenberg following the murder of nine people in the area in the past week.
Since 11 March, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) law enforcement officers have been deployed to assist in stabilising the flare-up in gang-related violence in Manenberg.
On Wednesday, Winde and the Acting Provincial Minister of Community Safety, Anroux Marais, conducted an oversight visit to Manenberg SAPS.
“I went to see it for myself, what’s happened, how it is being dealt with, how we made sure we have extra resources and where the next hotspot is gonna be,” said Winde.
“And to thank the neighbourhood watches, the CPF and the police and for what they are doing, and making sure that we got to do more, we need more resources to make a safer province.”
On Tuesday, there was a report back meeting at cabinet level which Winde attended.
“We had the safety management committee meeting so I get report backs on what is happening on safety across the province and on violence prevention because it’s about the two and how they work together.”
But he says that it will take more than just additional resources to help Manenberg.
“It’s about (crime) intelligence, it’s about making sure that we are getting people to grow the economy and get jobs, nothing stops a bullet (more) than a job, nothing puts food on the table like a job.
“We’ve got to make sure we build this together, we’ve got to build a safer society so we can actually get investment and grow jobs to work together.”
CPF chairperson Vernon Visagie says the Manenberg community can expect change after the briefing with the premier.
“The problem that we have now is that people are fearful of leaving their homes and going to work, and the gangsters are so unpredictable because sometimes they shoot in the morning as the children go to school.
“We are faced with a lot of challenges but we feel better with the additional force.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za