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Premier Alan Winde welcomes the announcement by Minister Bheki Cele that the President has authorised the employment of the SANDF to the worst affected crime areas in the province.

Communities and the Western Cape Government have been calling for the army as a peacekeeping and stabilisation force for several years, as crime and gangsterism have spiralled out of control.

Minister Cele has, until recently maintained that crime is not bad enough on the Cape Flats to warrant the army going in, but we are relieved by and welcome this about-turn.

This a clear admission that the police have lost control of the war on crime, a fact denied by Cele a mere few days ago.

Just today, we wrote to Minister Cele and the police management requesting the use of extra ordinary measures, in particular that they invoke Section 13(7) of the SAPS Act which allows for police to cordon off areas and conduct search and seizure operations for a period of 24 hours, without a warrant.

The SANDF could provide support and assist with holding perimeters and cordons in these exercises so that police can get on with the work of investigating crime and arresting perpetrators.

We hope this move will bring relief to residents in the Western Cape and stabilise our communities.

Issued by Western Cape Community Safety