Winde, residents at odds over SANDF’s impact on Cape Flats violence

CAPE Flats communities and political parties have said that they are tired of all the ‘army deployment talk’ and lack of clear action when it comes to tackling the violence on the Cape Flats.

- THEOLIN TEMBO.

This comes after Premier Alan Winde recently tabled a report on gang infiltration, and he answered questions from the Patriotic Alliance’s Donna Stephens about potential SANDF deployment on the Cape Flats.

“T think that’s a very interesting question, and maybe it is something that you should put to us to discuss at the Safety Council. (My) immediate gut answer to that is, I don’t think so.

“I requested this once before. I’ve been in government for quite a long time, and in 2019, just as I became the premier. We were having shootings across the Cape Flats just before an election again, and it feels a bit like deja vu,” Winde said.

“And I said, ‘We need the military: And that wasn't the first time. That was, I think, the second or third time that the military in the last 30 years has been brought in to deal with the gang violence.

“I think the real problem is that even when that happens, the military is trained for something else.