CALL FOR ACTION OVER RISING CHILD KILLINGS

Political parties clash as communities demand national emergency be declared

- MURRAY SWART

AS AN intense debate took place in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament on how to tackle the province's spiralling gang violence, three men believed to be of the Hard Livings gangs were shot and killed during a drive-by shooting in Manenberg.

More than 30 people have been murdered over the past few days across parts of Cape Town, where residents are calling for gang violence to be declared a national emergency and for the SANDF to be deployed.

SAPS Western Cape says gang violence remains prevalent, with more than 700 gangsters arrested and 1,500 weapons confiscated since April 2025.

These alarming statistics set the stage for a heated debate in the Provincial Parliament yesterday, where political parties clashed over accountability, policing powers, and social interventions to curb violent crime.

The ANC in the Dullar Omar region called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a state of disaster to bring calm to sporadic shootings.

The ANC accused the DA of political opportunism, arguing that provincial and city governments had failed to address socioeconomic drivers of crime.

During the sitting, the DA tabled a motion calling for enhanced child-protection measures and renewed its call for policing powers to be devolved to the province.

DA Deputy Chief Whip Wendy Kaizer-Philander highlighted systemic failures across government, citing 63 child murders between April and August, many in gang-related incidents.