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Call For Urgent Debate On Escalating Violence In The Eastern Cape

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Dear Editor

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for an urgent debate later this month regarding the escalating violence across the province during the next available Eastern Cape Legislature plenary sitting.

This follows the horrific news of the massacre in Lusikisiki, where 18 lives were lost in a senseless act of violence over the weekend. The rising levels of violence are instilling fear in our communities and leaving families devastated, as entire households are wiped out by criminal elements who operate with impunity.

Violent crime continues to surge, and this massacre is just the latest incident in a long list of tragedies. The reality is that our communities feel abandoned, with limited visible policing and inadequate resources to combat this scourge.

I have written to the Speaker of the Eastern Cape Legislature, Helen Sauls August, requesting that this issue be raised as a matter of public importance in terms of Rule 126 of the Standing Rules. The Legislature must address this issue with the urgency it demands, as the safety of our citizens cannot be treated as an afterthought.

We also commend Police Minister Senzo Mchunu for deploying detectives from Pretoria to assist in the investigation of this horrific incident. While these measures are appreciated, they are temporary solutions. We cannot rely on resources being deployed from outside the province every time there’s a crisis.

One of the key challenges we face is the significant budget shortfall for the Department of Community Safety, which has been allocated a mere R144.84 million—just 0.15% of the total provincial budget.

This lack of funding severely hampers our ability to invest in necessary resources. The DA strongly believes that modern technology must play a central role in our fight against crime.

The deployment of state-of-the-art surveillance and reconnaissance technology, such as “eye-in-the-sky” systems, such as those being deployed in the Western Cape, that can fly higher than drones and are equipped with both HD and infrared cameras, is essential.

This, combined with other cutting-edge technologies like drones, dashcams, bodycams, gunshot detection, license-plate recognition cameras, and EPIC (a master digital coordination system), will revolutionise our approach to crime prevention.

We cannot stand by while our communities suffer in silence. The time for action is now. The DA will continue to push for urgent interventions and ensure that the safety of the people of the Eastern Cape is prioritised. Our citizens deserve better, and we will not rest until meaningful steps are taken to address the violence that threatens our way of life.

Regards

Yusuf Cassim MPL
DA Shadow MEC for Community Safety

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