The government are currently hosting their Cabinet Lekgotla in Pretoria, throwing open their doors to leaders and elected members of Parliament for the next three days. The delegation includes ministers, deputy ministers and for the first time, premiers and their director generals.

Alan Winde shares stark message with Cabinet Lekgotla

One of the guests determined to make the most of their time with Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration is Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, who has arrived with a startling message.

The DA representative is serious about clamping down on the scourge of gang violence that is decimating the province. Earlier on Wednesday morning, violent gangs in Nyanga shot six police officers, leaving two of them seriously injured. This, according to Winde, is just the tip of the iceberg:

We had 331 murders in May 2019 alone – crime is out of control and the national sphere needs to take its mandate seriously if we are to solve it. I want to build partnerships with my national counterparts so that we can make this province better tomorrow than it is today.

— Premier Alan Winde (@alanwinde) June 12, 2019

Murder rate in the Western Cape for May 2019

As highlighted by the politician, those 331 murders in May equate to just over 10 people being killed per day. It’s simply not good enough by any account, and it now means that over 2 200 citizens have been murdered in the Western Cape over the past seven months. The data for April 2019 is just as grim:

• May’s figures are only slightly worse than April’s: Mortuary statistics indicate 308 people were killed the month before.
• There were 139 fatal shootings in April 2019 alone.
• Stabbings have also increased, looking at the year-on-year basis, with 79 people stabbed last month.

Cabinet Lekgotla: Alan Winde outlines his plans for the Western Cape

Alan Winde has vowed to use his time at the Cabinet Lekgotla to engage with the national crime-fighting forces and get them to fund the production of more police officers in the Cape. You can expect a showdown between him and Police Minister Bheki Cele, as both remain at odds on how to fight gangsterism in South Africa.

However, Winde has set out his agenda for the week: He also wants to form a plan to improve local rail infrastructure and is desperate to increase job creation in both the Western Cape and the rest of Mzansi:

“High on my agenda is to make the President and Cabinet Lekgotla aware of how violent crime is impacting our communities in the province. I am also looking forward to engaging with the new minister of Transport and Public Works, around trains in the Western Cape and unlocking well-located government-owned land for housing opportunities in the province.”

“It is our goal as the Western Cape government to have at least one job in every household and in order to do this, we plan to expand our Red Tape Reduction Unit in order to make the province an even easier place to invest, remove the regulatory burdens for small businesses. We are also looking to foster a spirit of cooperation with the ANC.”

– Alan Winde on the Cabinet Lekgotla

(Source: The South African)