The minister raised concerns on Wednesday about the metro, during a discussion on the second day of the National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) local government week.
FILE: Cooperative Governance Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at a media briefing in Pretoria on 17 August 2020. Picture: @GCISMedia/Twitter
CAPE TOWN – Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Wednesday questioned the high crime rate in Cape Town.
Dlamini-Zuma said that the Western Cape was performing well in terms of governance, but she questioned crime-fighting efforts.
The minister raised concerns about the metro during a discussion on the second day of the National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) local government week.
Members of the NCOP spent much of Wednesday focusing on provinces and the challenges they faced. The Western Cape was represented by its Local Government MEC Anton Bredell.
While Dlamini-Zuma commended the province for its clean audits, she questioned the crime rate.
“Cape Town has been kind of, not in the audits but just in life, has been deteriorating especially on the issues around crime. I think it started a decade ago or years ago, it was around number 30-something in the world and now it’s coming down to be among the first 10,” Dlamini-Zuma.
Responding to the minister, Bredell said that crime prevention was a priority for the province.
“I think crime reduction and violence prevention are among the highest priorities that we’ve got. I’ve put in 500 extra officials trained to support our police force within the City of Cape Town, and it’s a whole society approach,” he said.
Dlamini Zuma also questioned municipalities on their failure to fill vacancies, saying this was a key reason for poor performance.