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The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the announcement by Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia confirming that President Cyril Ramaphosa has acceded to the DA’s demand to expand the planned military deployment to include the Eastern Cape, to support the South African Police Service in combating gangsterism.

This follows sustained pressure from the DA and communities in Nelson Mandela Bay’s Northern Areas, who have long called for urgent national priority intervention to address the ongoing gang violence crisis.

While the deployment of the army can provide short-term relief and has the potential to bring much-needed stability to communities that have been living under siege for far too long, it cannot resolve the root causes of gangsterism.

The safety and dignity of residents must remain the priority, and immediate stabilisation is a necessary first step.

The DA further extends our sincere gratitude to the many community members who came out in their numbers to make their voices heard during the “Do Our Lives Not Matter?” rally and memorandum handover at Gelvandale Police Station.

Their courage and unity sent a clear message that residents' lives in the Northern Areas cannot continue to be ignored.

The memorandum made clear that, although army intervention is not a solution to the carnage, it would provide essential stability, and it also called for the urgent implementation of the binding parliamentary resolutions adopted in July last year. These resolutions directed SAPS to address the collapse of the Anti-Gang Unit and Crime Intelligence capacity in Nelson Mandela Bay, yet no meaningful action has followed.

I will again write to President Ramaphosa to insist that he compel the acting police minister to implement the resolutions of parliament in this regard.

The DA will closely monitor the implementation of the deployment plan, which is expected to begin within the next ten days, and will continue to demand long-term, sustainable solutions to dismantle gang networks, restore specialised policing capacity, and ensure a whole-of-government approach to address the underlying causes of gangsterism and criminality.

Communities in the Northern Areas deserve more than temporary intervention. They deserve lasting safety, functioning law enforcement, and a government that treats their lives as a national priority.

The DA remains committed to fighting alongside residents until meaningful, permanent change is achieved.

Issued by Yusuf Cassim MPL - DA Shadow MEC for Community Safety