GOOD Statement by Shaun August,
GOOD National Organiser & Member Of The WCPP
25 August 2022
The gangsters and criminals pronking around in our communities with sneering impunity, attacking our women and children, and undermining people’s self-esteem, are evidence of the failures of the three spheres of government to put politics aside and focus on developing proud and dignified communities.
Policing, on its own, can’t fix the social damage wrought by hundreds of years of discrimination, separation, and deliberate under-development of people of colour. That trauma, from the perspectives of both victims and oppressors, will continue to reverberate until it is addressed.
In the meantime, the principal of an Early Childhood Development centre in Philippi was shot in the eye at close range and is currently in ICU in critical condition. This comes after a group of armed men stormed the facility, robbed staff members, and then fled the scene.
Soon afterwards, a women’s student transport shuttle was hijacked in Eersterivier after dropping kids at school. Her sole source of income has been snatched from her palms.
Crime in South Africa – and more specifically the Western Cape – has reached colossal and unacceptable heights.
Criminals roam around unchecked, which emboldens them to be ever more creative, more daring, and more dangerous in their law-breaking exploits.
The release of the first quarter crime statistics for 2022/2023 paints a worrisome reality for where our country is heading.
Innocent lives – including many women and children – are being lost daily.
What’s clear is that the three spheres of government are not working together to halt the rise of violent crime.
The fact that a five-year-old child can identify a drug den in their community, but SAPS and law enforcement can’t, gives one a good idea of their respective capabilities.
But beating crime can’t just be about policing. It is a lifetime job that starts at home. Healthy and sustainable households where each member’s needs are provided for, creates healthy citizens. We need to invest more in the development of healthy people by investing more in infrastructure and programmes conducive to healthy people and communities.
When we politicise social interventions, including crime prevention, we poison the chances of success.
We implore the Provincial Departments of Community Safety and Police Oversight, Education, Health, Social Development, and Cultural Affairs and Sports, with the City of Cape Town, to place greater priority on addressing the causes of crime.
Media Enquiries:
Shaun August, GOOD National Organizer & Member Of The WCPP
Cell: 074 746 7378
Email: shauna@forgood.org.za
Dewan de Swardt, GOOD Acting Media Manager Cell: 072 536 1476
Email: dewands@forgood.org.za