CAPE TOWN, Aug. 15– South Africa’s Parliament on Saturday called for stronger coordination and intelligence-sharing between the military and police as they work to curb escalating violence in the Western Cape Province.
Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Portfolio Committee on Police in Parliament made the call in a statement, after a joint oversight visit to Cape Town’s gang-ridden Cape Flats this week.
The visit followed a series of shootings across Langa, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu last weekend that left 11 people dead, underscoring the persistent threat of gang-related violence in the area.
Earlier this year, about 2,200 soldiers from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were deployed to the Western Cape and four other provinces under Operation Prosper to assist South African Police Service (SAPS) in combating crime, especially gang violence and illegal mining.
However, Ian Cameron, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, recently told local media that there had been no decrease in gang violence since the operation began and that violence had increased in some areas.
In the parliamentary statement, the committees said they were concerned by reports that some SAPS members were not providing sufficient intelligence to soldiers to identify crime hotspots and criminal strongholds.
“SANDF members told us that they sometimes experience reluctance or a lack of urgency from SAPS members when it comes to identifying criminal strongholds.
We need the two services to work together and share intelligence effectively,” said Cameron. The committees said arrests had largely involved “drug runners,” while major figures behind drug trafficking and gang activity remained at large, urging more intelligence-led operations targeting gang leaders.
“The issue is mainly about coordination and making sure that intelligence is properly shared and followed up,” said Phiroane Phala, chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.
The committees also raised concerns over soldiers’ working conditions, including shortages of basic supplies and equipment, and delays in receiving allowances. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
