Smarter policing for CPT: City finally gets buy-in from govt to work together
John Maytham talks to Alderman JP Smith about the agreement reached between the Western Cape government, City of Cape Town, and police to ramp up security in the city.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu at Cape Town meeting with safety and security stakeholders, Facebook
Alderman JP Smith has hailed an agreement reached with safety and security stakeholders to enhance policing in Cape Town.
The City says it will be a signatory to a cooperation agreement with the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety, to improve safety for all residents.
While the agreement does not mean the devolution of police powers that the City has been lobbying for, it is a huge step forward.
John Maytham gets some background from JP Smith, the City's Mayoral Committee member for Safety and Security.
Smith says the agreement, to be signed on Friday, is the outcome of a conversation that's been requested for a long time and that new Police Minister Senzo Mchunu responded to.
"The new national minister and his two deputies came to see Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, myself and MEC Anroux Marais, and Mchunu started the meeting by saying we desperately need collaboration, cooperation."
JP Smith, MayCo member for Safety and Security - CoCT
The parties agreed this should be formalised in a cooperation agreement, underpinned by an implementation agreement which spells out the nuts and bolts, Smith explains.
"The cooperation agreement was workshopped with the safety and security cluster on Tuesday with all the CPFs and neighbourhood watches... 13 areas of collaboration were spelled out, which lays a very good foundation, and very strong commitments were made by all including the national minister, very loudly."
JP Smith, MayCo member for Safety and Security - CoCT
This is the culmination of the work started on the so-called Safer Cities agreement two and a half years ago, Smith says.
"This is really good progress, and I think what we're seeing is a lot less adversarial approach by national government, definitely a changing of the guard from where we were with Bheki Cele to where we are with Mchunu."
"I am cynical, always, with national government but I'm very optimistic with where we are now."
JP Smith, MayCo member for Safety and Security - CoCT
Scroll up to listen to the interview with JP Smith