SACP and NUM picket over surge of violent crime in the Western Cape

The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) are picketing outside the Western Cape provincial legislature on Friday to highlight the surge of violent crime.

NUM and the SACP are hosting various activities this weekend as part of their "Red October" programme.

The organisations say the protests are to highlight the struggle against capitalist exploitation, social decay, the surge of violent crime and state incapacity and the urgent need for socialist transformation and people-centred governance. 

They are calling for the release of the Western Cape Ombudsman’s report implicating police officers allegedly captured by underworld criminal networks, the appointment of a provincial intelligence head and for the City of Cape Town to account for 31 missing firearms, as revealed by the 2022 Firearm Inspectorate Report.

SACP provincial secretary in the Western Cape Benson Ngqentsu, said, "We are here to call upon the City of Cape Town, provincial government and the police to develop an integrated response to this and that is why we are calling for the declaration of violent crime as a provincial disaster."

Ngqentsu said that a detailed memorandum of demands will be handed to representatives from the Western Cape government, SAPS and the City of Cape Town.