Minister Cele has failed South Africa and needs to go

7 June 2022

Minister Cele’s response - while hard to understand - to my call for him to be removed, is just further evidence that he is unfit for the job. President Ramaphosa has a responsibility to the people of South Africa to remove him - and to ensure that a capable and professional person is tasked with overseeing the safety of everyone in our country.

Cape Town works well with local SAPS staff, many of whom are devoted public servants and do their best. But Minister Cele’s response lets those committed police officers down. He says he is not employed by us, but he is employed by every South African to make them safer. In that task, he is currently failing.

While we wait for President Ramaphosa to do the right thing, we will continue investing in the safety of our residents through recruiting hundreds of new law enforcement officers, investing in new technology, CCTV cameras, and training, equipping and supporting neighbourhood watches across this city.

The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government have collectively made massive investments to deploy more than 1 100 additional local law enforcement officers under our LEAP programme to make up for the ongoing police resource shortages in our region. This investment has enabled law enforcement to triple its arrest rate in recent years.

To help make Cape Town safer, the City has passed a R5,4 billion Safety budget this financial year, with funding for 150 more officers this year alone, and R86 million for CCTV and new crime-fighting tech in 2022/2023. 

Issued by Media Office, City of Cape Town, 7 June 2022