Violence is not only a human tragedy. It is also one of the most serious economic threats facing our country. Safety and opportunity rise or fall together – and each is necessary for the other.
Violent crime is tearing our communities apart. The latest crime statistics confirm what far too many families already know: violence remains a daily crisis in South Africa. But the crime stats also show that there is a path forward to safer communities – if we only focus on what has been proven to work.
Taking that path is an imperative, not only for the lives it will save, but also for the economic growth that will stop crime in its tracks. Recent research confirms this. The World Bank’s 2023 report, Safety First: The Economic Cost of Crime in South Africa, estimates that crime costs our economy at least 10% of GDP every year.
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That is hundreds of billions of rand lost to violence, insecurity, protection costs, lost productivity and missed investment. At the same time, lack of growth and opportunity create the economic conditions needed for crime to thrive, thus forming a vicious cycle that must be reversed. Fighting and investigating crime are, at present, primarily functions assigned to the national government.
But while local and provincial governments such as ours are not funded to fight crime, we often feel compelled to do so anyway. The reason for this is simple: we have a duty to our residents to do better, and the SAPS simply isn’t coping. The Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town spend millions of rand a year on law enforcement, but the SAPS’ annual budget dwarfs the entire provincial government budget.
If the SAPS cannot find ways to modernise and properly resource its efforts, a conversation must be had about ways in which provincial and municipal governments may be given the resources to succeed where the SAPS is underperforming. Thankfully, Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia has shown a willingness to confront these failures that was notably lacking from his predecessors. But we need to see action and results urgently.
We also need to attack the problem from all sides. Policing without prevention is like trying to mop up water while the tap remains open. In the Western Cape, we are investing in the violence prevention programmes that protect lives, strengthen communities, and create a foundation for more jobs and opportunities for the future.
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