Premier Alan Winde says calls to declare crime a disaster are under urgent review but insists the decision rests with national government, amid mounting pressure over escalating gang violence in the Western Cape. Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says calls for a disaster declaration in response to escalating violent crime in the province are receiving urgent attention, but stressed that the authority to declare such a disaster lies with national government. Winde made the remarks at a press conference held to provide an update on water security challenges and ongoing wildfire threats, where he was asked about mounting pressure to declare crime a disaster amid persistent gang violence and extortion-related killings.
He said crime prevention and law enforcement remain national competencies, meaning the province cannot act unilaterally. “Our legal team has given us all the opportunity and advice, but we can’t because it has to come from national,” Winde said. The Premier confirmed he will engage acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia and Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa to raise the requests for a disaster declaration and discuss alternative approaches to managing high crime levels.
Winde acknowledged the desperation in communities hardest hit by violence, saying residents are increasingly alarmed by the frequency of multiple killings and are urging government to “please do something”. The comments follow renewed pressure from Rev Dr Llewellyn MacMaster, chairperson of the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition (C4), who has urged the province to show the same urgency toward gang violence as it does toward natural disasters. In his letter to Winde, MacMaster wrote: “Civil society is exhausted by political blame-shifting, with each sphere of government blaming the other while communities continue to bury their dead.
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This is not a symbolic or populist call — it is a response to a sustained humanitarian emergency that local systems cannot contain.” He added that the violence has caused “severe social and economic disruption, with schools shut down due to gunfire, healthcare services overwhelmed, businesses facing extortion and entire communities living under a pervasive climate of fear”. Responding to criticism around resource allocation, Winde rejected claims that provincial safety resources favour wealthier areas.
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