51 000 less potential gang recruits

19 October 2023

An impressive 44 342 extra learners participated in district sports tournaments in the Western Cape in the 2022/23 fiscal year, bringing the total number up to 50 742 children.

As part of a drive to grow school sports, the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport has mobilised its after-school programmes to increase participation in sports.

There are also 818 Mass Participation, Opportunity and Access, Development and Growth (MOD) centres across 9 districts, which form part of the MOD Programme that provides school-going youth with access to various fun-filled, play-based and modified activities in recreation and sport, as well as in arts and culture, on a daily basis.

Additionally, 3017 youth-in-service opportunities were created with an additional 6 205 at-risk youth participating regularly and consistently in After School Programmes (ASP).

MPP Gillion Bosman says: “Getting our children to participate in sport and other recreational activities is not only very important for their individual development and for building character, but also for keeping our at-risk youth out of gang activity.

The DA-run Western Cape Government will be spending almost R1.5 billion over the next three financial years to address the issue of gang activity among young people in the province.

By offering alternative paths, we can ensure that these young individuals have the opportunity to avoid the negative consequences of getting involved with gangs that include violence, criminal records and disrupted education.”

Issued by Gillion Bosman, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Cultural Affairs and Sport, 19 October 2023