Mark Kleinschmidt, Ward 60 councillor
I disagree strongly with Police Minister Bheki Cele’s decision not to deploy the army into the gang-ravaged communities in the Western Cape.
Currently these areas depict war zones, and that’s where the army is needed.
So-called protesters are using live rounds of ammunition, and our law enforcement agencies and SAPS have difficulty in quelling the violent and dangerous encounters.
Previously, when Premier Helen Zille implored the army to tackle the lawless anarchy in Manen-
berg, the result was fruitful.
Mr Cele is correct that his training was for “environments that were war-torn”. He further states that he was never trained in crowd control. Are the pictures strewn in the media not indicative of war-torn communities?
The current
situation is beyond “crowd control”. Opportunistic gangsters are exploiting the legitimate protesters’ grievances to their own advantage.
Deploy the army, Mr Cele, to quell the lawlessness and looting in our war-torn communities.
