Cape Crime Crisis Coalition calls on govt to create plan to rid SA of guns

CAPE TOWN - The Cape Crime Crisis Coalition is calling on the government to create a plan to rid the country of guns.  

The coalition said 177 people were shot dead in Western Cape in the last three months.  

ALSO READ: Cape Crime Crisis Coalition raises concern on rising gang-related crime on Cape Flats

The latest quarterly crime statistics show gangsterism has contributed 17% to the province's murder rate.  

Cape Crime Crisis Coalition chairperson Llewellyn MacMaster said the gang violence can be compared to a low-intensity civil war.  

"We are therefore at one with the Cape Flats Safety Forum, Gun Free SA, Balls Not Guns, and community members and organisations who have called for a comprehensive and sustainable plan to remove firearms from society."  

MacMaster said the coalition will be formulating a provincial safety plan, led by citizens and civil society, in the coming year.