Below is an extract from a speech and soundbite delivered by Yusuf Cassim MPL, DA EC Provincial Chairperson, at the Metro Police Station in Chatty, Gqeberha after a Freedom Day march against crime in Nelson Mandela Bay. See pictures here, here, here and here.
Yesterday, we commemorated Freedom Day – a powerful reminder of 27 April 1994, when South Africa held its first non-racial democratic election. It was a day of hope and of triumph over injustice.
But 31 years later, we must ask: Are our people truly free?
Freedom is more than the right to vote. True freedom means safety in your home, a growing economy that creates jobs and opportunities for our children.
Under the ANC-led coalition government, freedom in Nelson Mandela Bay is under siege.
Violence is out of control and our streets have become battlegrounds. Gangsters and criminals roam freely, while law-abiding citizens live in constant fear.
Criminals are robbing us of the future that so many of our heroes fought, and died, to secure.
We cannot celebrate freedom while our people are held to ransom by crime, The residents of Nelson Mandela Bay are not free, they are hostages.
The DA has long maintained that excessively high crime in neighbourhoods in the Northern Areas of NMB has created an abnormal situation that has claimed countless innocent lives. It is this abnormal situation that has been the driving force behind our fight for effective local crime-fighting solutions in Nelson Mandela Bay. The metro needs priority crime-fighting interventions, which is why we’ve been raising this issue in Council, the Provincial Legislature, and National Parliament.
The ANC-led coalition government’s handling of rampant crime in Nelson Mandela Bay has been an embarrassment. Their recent move – petitioning President Cyril Ramaphosa to deploy the South African Defence Force to the metro – is clearly an admission of their total lack of a crime fighting plan.
This coalition government only spent R3.2 million (less than 5%) of the R69.88 million allocated for safety and security in the 2024/25 financial year. To make matters worse the draft budget for 2025/26 slashes funding for safety and security in half, reducing it to only R33.65 million.
Comparatively, the DA-governed Kouga Municipality has tripled its budget for safety and security, deployed advanced crime-fighting technology such as drones, and makes use of a state-of-the-art Incident Command Centres.
Where the DA governs, safety and security are priorities. Today, we are here to submit a memorandum to a metro delegation outlining practical crime-fighting solutions for municipal implementation.
Our safety and security solutions include:
- Filling key vacancies with qualified professionals to strengthen operational capacity
- Supporting Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) groups with funding, training, and resources. Although the DA submitted a motion in October 2023 to fund NHW groups, the ANC-led coalition failed to implement it.
- Repairing and deploying the metro’s Mobile Surveillance Vehicle to improve real-time monitoring in crime hotspots
- Rolling out ShotSpotter technology in high-crime areas for faster responses to gun violence.
- Fixing and expanding CCTV coverage to aid crime prevention and investigations.
- Establishing a Joint Operations Centre to coordinate all metro security operations effectively.
- Partnering with private security and communities to ensure faster, tech-enabled responses through improved communication and tools like drones.
By investing in modern technology, improving coordination between law enforcement, and empowering our communities, we can turn the tide against crime. We can reclaim our streets, restore dignity, and give our people back the freedom they were promised.
Nelson Mandela Bay deserves better. Our people deserve to feel safe, to walk without fear, and to live with hope.