Opposition parties have criticised the City of Cape Town’s campaign for greater policing powers, with ANC Dullah Omar region chairperson Ndithini Thyido describing it as a political “gimmick” aimed at usurping national government powers.

The Mayoral Committee on Thursday formally backing a motion calling for the devolution of specific investigative and intelligence functions from national government, despite strong opposition from the ANC and the EFF.

The motion, first adopted by the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee in June, seeks to devolve investigative powers for crime categories such as gang violence, firearm offences, extortion, and drug trafficking.

It also calls for crime intelligence functions to be assigned to the city and for responsibility over firearm forensic laboratory testing centres to be transferred.

Additionally, the motion proposes continued participation in the Cooperation Agreement task team and the creation of a joint technical workstream with multiple stakeholders.

The Mayoral Committee’s support gives the city manager a mandate to initiate the process in terms of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act of 2005. Should this fail, the city has indicated it will pursue the matter through the courts.

Thyido criticised the City for using an unlawful investigative unit to track suspects in previous incidents and questioned whether recent attacks involving MPs including Portfolio Committee on Police chairperson Ian Cameron could have been “stage-managed.”

“Is it really a coincidence that, just 72 hours before this motion was tabled, the MPs experienced that incident? Could it have been a stage-managed exercise? This may sound insensitive, and we say it with all due respect and sympathy for the MPs, but consider the sequence of events: within six hours, suspects were arrested. In contrast, in similar cases where more than 20 people have died in the same area, no arrests were ever made.”

He argued that the motion “has nothing to do with service delivery or improvement of services to the community” and accused the DA of attempting to recreate an “old apartheid” style of governance.

He added that the City’s commitment to previously signed tripartite agreements with provincial and national government had not been fulfilled, raising further questions about the DA’s intentions.

EFF councillor Banzi Dambuza also condemned the motion, saying the DA has failed to use existing law enforcement platforms effectively, particularly in black and coloured communities plagued by crime.

Dambuza cited recent failures to install basic infrastructure in informal settlements due to extortion as evidence of the City’s incapacity to protect residents.

He warned that giving the DA control over police powers would allow “full dominance” and the creation of a dual standard of law enforcement, where attacks on MPs result in rapid arrests while crimes affecting ordinary residents go unaddressed.

Dambuza said this could mirror policing problems seen abroad, with black residents at risk of being “ill treated” or even shot.

Opposition members also argued that the DA’s proposed devolution of powers is a continuation of “swart gevaar” policing tactics within the City, which they say have previously been used to intimidate councillors and residents alike.

Thyido and Dambuza insisted that the City’s motion is politically motivated, with little focus on improving service delivery or addressing everyday crime affecting communities.

Councillor Mzwakhe Nqavashe, chairperson of the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee, said the move is essential for improving public safety.

“Devolution will help to improve the fight against crime and improve public safety for communities, particularly those crippled by gang violence. While the fight until now has focused on increased powers for metro police, the city is also rallying for increased municipal peace officer powers to strengthen law enforcement departments not just in Cape Town, but across the province,” he said.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith defended the motion, saying Cape Town has already demonstrated its ability to contribute effectively to law enforcement.

“Cape Town continues to experience very high crime levels, particularly linked to gang violence. The City can do more and we have proven as much. While SAPS continues to rely very heavily on our manpower and on-the-ground support, they remain unwilling to give us additional powers to help,” Smith said.

The motion now awaits the City Manager’s initiation of the process, with legal avenues set as a fallback should intergovernmental negotiations fail.

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za 

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