Cape Town - The R7 million budget allocated to the SAPS’s Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) to combat gang violence in the Western Cape has come under scrutiny from crime fighters and watchdogs, with sources revealing the money is already depleted ahead of the financial year-end.
Launched to defeat gang violence that has gripped communities for decades, the specialised unit raided close to 100 gang hideouts between April and November 2024, while children as young as 10 years old are being recruited into gangs.
Responding to Parliamentary questions raised by Action SA’s Dereleen James, a board member of the Central Drug Authority and member of the SAPS National Anti-Drug and Gangsterism Priority Forum, Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu said the R7m was allocated to the unit in the province in 2024/25.
“A dedicated baseline funding of R7 062 000 was allocated to the unit in the province in 2024/25, as this capability has been prioritised for capacitation by the SAPS over the medium-term, despite prevailing budget restrictions,” the response read.
In his reply, Mchunu said the policing strategy for 2022 to 2025 included the dismantling of gangster hideouts.
But according to a whistle-blower, who asked for their name to be withheld due to safety concerns, the R7m was already depleted.
This, as vehicles had not been replaced since 2018 and with a staff complement of 208, which included admin staff, they were stretched financially and working overtime in their race to combat gangsterism.
“About R5m goes to AGU detectives and does not go to AGU Vispol members that combat gangsterism,” they said.
It is believed the Cape Flats is overrun by 80 000 to 100 000 gangsters in at least 130 gangs.
The Cape Flats has seen a rise in mass gang shootings in communities such as Bishop Lavis, Atlantis and Elsies River in recent months, where the AGU was deployed to stabilise the situation.
Among the victims of the violence was 14-year-old Grantham Jahmiel van Reenen, who was shot and killed by gunmen who opened fire in Elsies River while he was walking to school in November 2024.
Reverend Dr Llewellyn MacMaster of the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition raised concern over the violence that continued to flare out of control.
“All these questions have been answered before with different reports and information,” he said.
“Our question is, what difference did the police make this time around?
“What value did it add to police return on tactical outputs mentioned and what overall impact did it have on the gang threat?
“What outcomes and not outputs are intended for the expenditure and how will those outcomes be tracked and evaluated throughout the budget year?
“What SAPS say and claim as successes and what is going on right now in various communities across the Cape Flats as well as some rural towns are two different stories.
“Gang warfare is escalating.
“And what about the billions spent on the Western Cape Safety Plan?
“We will always welcome any steps to combat the scourge.”
Imraahn Mukaddam, who previously served on the Elsies River Community Policing Forum, said he felt there was no strategy though funding given, and no positive results showed in winning the war against gangsterism.
“As an active citizen in a community that bears the brunt of gang violence on a daily basis, it is clear that there is no cohesive strategy to combat gangsterism, the allocation to the Anti-Gang Unit indicates that gangsterism, despite all the rhetoric and grandstanding by SAPS top brass, it is not a priority on especially the Cape Flats.
“We measure impact by arrest and convictions and in both instances much more needs to be done before we can make any impact.
“We note this talk of banning gangs but where will the capacity to enforce this legislation come from if already the police, the courts and the prisons are overwhelmed.
“We have not seen a roll-out of any of the programmes referred to by the Minister of Police, where real impact was made possible.”
According to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime's Western Cape Gang Monitor, dated, March 2024, illegal guns were the catalyst for gang violence.
“Given this cocktail of firearm illegality, gangs in the Western Cape appear to have been given access to significant quantities of guns, some of which are linked to inadequate control of firearms under the jurisdiction of the police.
“This has not only ratcheted up levels of gun violence, but also affected how gangs operate.
“Some gang bosses have set themselves up as intermediaries facilitating illicit firearm deals, selling them not only to their own members but also supplying other criminal networks in a bid to increase their influence, revenue and criminal interests.”