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The DA is pleased that our call for the deployment of national specialised crime fighting units to crime-ridden Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) is now under consideration by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.

On 2 October 2023 I wrote to the Minister after six people were brutally murdered in one day in suspected gang killings in Nelson Mandela Bay.

I requested his urgent intervention to deploy SAPS specialised resources to deal with the ongoing killings specifically in the gang-infested Northern Areas of Gqeberha.

In my letter I asked the Minister to:

• Double the number of members allocated to the Anti-Gang Unit.
• Assign the best detectives from around the country to support the SAPS in NMB.
• Deploy the SAPS National Intervention Unit / Special Task Force in the Northern Areas.
• Strengthen crime intelligence; and
• Increase police visibility

The Minister replied in writing on 29 December 2023 confirming that the Provincial Police Commissioner has deployed additional resources to Nelson Mandela Bay and that he is taking a request for the deployment of national specialised units under consideration.

What is of great concern though is that it took Cele more than 90 days to respond to our letter about the biggest crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay.

We will now take the matter up in the police portfolio committee to ensure that the Minister gives urgent feedback on progress made.

The DA hopes that this commitment is not just another example of Cele paying lip service while the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay live in fear for their lives and are being held hostage by violent and ruthless gangsters.

The DA will not falter in its fight to rescue Nelson Mandela Bay from the criminals that are destroying the lives of its citizens.

Issued by Andrew Whitfield MP - DA EC Provincial Leader