Members of the Cape Flats Concerned Residents organisation say they will be combating gang related crimes in their respective areas through establishing an active neighbourhood watch and ensure the safety of residents, especially school learners, during the peak of gang violence. The group has also called on communities to join another unified march to Parliament after the Presidency failed to respond to a recent memorandum pleading for help to curb the increased gang violence.

The joint committee held a press conference in Hanover Park on Tuesday, to determine the way forward. The committee’s Convenor, Ricardo Sedres says their call for immediate intervention is not being heard and the community’s plan to unite in their numbers will bring some relief to the hostile situation.

“We gave president Jacob Zuma 48 hours to respond to our memorandum but since, we received nothing from them and we are gatvol. Our next move now is to contact Parliament as we want answers. We don’t see anything taking place in the gang ridden communities.

“Since our last march, five people have died due to gang related violence. We believe those people could have been spared in government deployed the army as we requested,” Sedres said.

Sedres believes the army should be deployed to the hotspots in the affected communities, to patrol and ensure the safety of innocent residents and children.

Another member of the committee, Matthew Cummings says the group will now also be mobilising residents to actively fight crime in their neighbourhoods by establishing active neighbourhood watch groups.

“We want to revive the neighbourhood watch so that we can take our streets back. People have been too scared to come out against gangsters but if there is a voice of leadership, I am sure they [residents] will stand up and support this initiative in their numbers,” Cummings added.

A fear of back lash from gangsters has been the number one factor which has caused residents not to fight back. According to the committee’s Nadeem Cooper, since government has not provided any intervention, residents have become sick and tired.

“If we do not fight back now, our children will become the next victims. We have been victims since the sixties. We need to trench the way forward, whatever the consequences or challenges that may occur along the way,” Cooper added.

The group called on residents of the cape flats to join in a march to Parliament on Tuesday, 2nd June 2015 where more demands will be made to Parliament. Sedres says this time, the joint committee expects residents from Delft, Belhar, Grassy Park, Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Lavender Hill, Hanover Park and many other areas hard hit by violent gang activities. VOC (Ra’eesah Isaacs)