'No quick fixes': Winde pushes for long-term safety plan during Mitchells Plain patrol

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says improving safety in crime-affected communities like Mitchells Plain requires more than policing, but efforts to restore dignity, rebuild trust, and ensure that law enforcement has the resources to do its job.

On Monday afternoon, Winde walked from the Mitchells Plain Police Station to Imperial Street in Beacon Valley, joined by Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku, Safety and Security MMC JP Smith, and officers from the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP), SAPS, and Traffic Services.

Flanked by law enforcement vehicles, the Premier and his delegation stopped to greet residents, hand out safety pamphlets, and give balls to children playing in the street. Some residents stood on their stoeps and in their yards, watching curiously as the convoy passed.

Winde said the walkabout was part of a broader effort to strengthen partnerships between communities and law enforcement as part of a Mitchells Plain Safety Plan being developed through the Police Oversight and Community Safety Directorate.

"It’s about dignity, the street you live in, your police station, how you feel when you get to work as a police officer. If there’s litter, grime, or graffiti, it all feeds into crime. We have to get the basics right and get the whole of society involved, and it’s not a quick fix, but it’s a start," said Winde.

The Premier also raised concerns over declining police resources despite a growing population and escalating crime.

"The city has grown from four to five million people in the last decade, but SAPS resources have gone down, not up. It’s not only about manpower; it’s vehicles, radios, and technology. Some of these systems are antiquated, and that doesn’t help anybody," he said.

Winde said he had recently spoken to Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, who visited the province after an escalation in gang-related murders in September. Wind said that Cachalia expressed willingness to return to the province soon to strengthen cooperation between national and provincial policing efforts.

"Minister Cachalia seems very responsive. He told me last week he’ll be coming back again soon, hopefully with plans to boost detective capacity. If detectives have proper resources, we can finally see consequences for criminals," Winde added.

He also suggested that the province could replicate an initiative piloted in Grassy Park, where a lawyer was placed inside a police station to help ensure dockets were correctly prepared before going to court.

While some residents welcomed the Premier’s presence, describing it as a brief moment of calm in an area often shaken by gunfire, others expressed concern that safety patrols like this one were often short-lived.

"I appreciate what’s happening here, but this is a once-off. We have to protect our kids without the premier and the ministers. I hope it’s not just for elections — this must be a continuous thing," one resident told Eyewitness News.

Another resident, standing on his stoep watching the long line of police and law enforcement officers, said it had been a long time since he’d seen that much visibility in his neighbourhood.

"I haven’t seen this many officers on our streets up until now. They should return on the weekend when they shoot us," he said.

Several residents were hesitant to speak on record, saying they feared gang reprisals. One woman told EWN: "We’d rather not comment — the gangsters are walking with you in this same vicinity, watching as we speak."

Meanwhile, the Western Cape Department of Mobility says it will soon assess the impact of the 30-day suspension of several taxi routes connecting Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, and Somerset West, after a High Court ruling upheld the restriction.

The suspension was imposed following deadly clashes between rival taxi associations, the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA), which claimed several lives.

In a statement, CODETA said it respected the court’s ruling and was committed to finding a peaceful, long-term solution to the ongoing tensions. The association also urged its members to remain calm and avoid any form of violence for the safety of commuters, drivers, and fellow operators.

Speaking on the sidelines of the safety patrol, Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku said calm had largely returned to the affected areas, with only one violent incident reported since the suspension took effect.

"At the end of the 30 days, we have to reassess whether we’ve achieved stability in the industry and determine what else can be done. Ultimately, the long-term solution is for people to come together with the department," said Sileku.

Both the provincial government and the taxi industry have urged continued cooperation to ensure long-term stability and commuter safety across the Western Cape.