CAPE TOWN – Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s oversight visit to Mitchells Plain on Wednesday 27 May was overshadowed by anger in the community.

Mashatile visited the area to assess progress on Operation Prosper — the joint police and army deployment launched following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address announcement in February.

Families heard, CPF shut out

At Lentegeur Police Station, Mashatile’s first stop, he met privately with the families of crime victims. But community police forum (CPF) leaders who had received invitations arrived to find themselves turned away at the door.

Lentegeur CPF chairperson Michael Jacobs showed TygerBurger the invitation that had been sent to the CPF late on Tuesday. The letter, issued at the direction of Major General Luyanda Damoyi of the Deputy Provincial Commissioner’s office, apologised for the short notice and asked CPF representatives to attend alongside boards from Mitchells Plain, Gugulethu and Manenberg.

When they arrived, they were told the meeting was “too high-profile” for them to attend, Jacobs said.

“We are volunteers and we want to work with the police and government to address the situation of crime, but what we experienced today — where I was told that I am not welcome in my own home — it’s a slap in the face,” said Jacobs.

“If that is government’s response to us as a community, as volunteers, then we as a community need to review our relationship with government, with the police, and other stakeholders, because clearly this is totally unacceptable.”

Jacobs also questioned the impact of the military deployment.

“The army’s here, but really, what did the army do? Killings are still continuing,” he said, pointing to a double murder two weeks ago in Montrose Park, one of the area’s identified hotspots. He said he had wanted to brief the deputy president on the Mitchells Plain Safety and Development Forum, a multi-pronged community safety initiative developed in partnership with the provincial government and community stakeholders, including the religious fraternity.

Mashatile promises return visit

In Tafelsig, speaking briefly to residents who had gathered, Mashatile called on the community to support the police and army in identifying drug dealers and those carrying illegal weapons.

“Please work with them,” he said.

He acknowledged that more remained to be done.

“There are still people who are being killed in some parts of the Cape Flats and we must make sure that we can get to these culprits. They must be arrested and go to jail.”

Mashatile noted that the visit was not intended to be a public meeting and promised to return.

“This is not a once-off visit. We are going to continue to come. When we come the next time, we’ll make sure we organise a proper community hall where I can talk to you properly,” he said.

He was accompanied by Acting Minister of Social Development Sindisiwe Chikunga, Deputy Minister of Police Dr Polly Boshielo and several other deputy ministers. He said he had left Minister Chikunga and Deputy Minister Ganief Hendricks with some of the bereaved families in Lentegeur to explore support, including social workers.

SANDF show of force

Tafelsig neighbourhood watch chairperson Stella Cornelius told TygerBurger that before the visit she had only seen one army vehicle with 13 soldiers in the streets. On the day of the visit, about 30 soldiers arrived as part of Mashatile’s convoy.

She said the military presence had some effect on keeping the area calm, but was far from sufficient. She questioned what the high-profile visit would actually mean for ordinary residents.

“This is a daily thing we struggle with — day by day people are dying. They’re shooting the women as well, innocent people. They stand in the road and then they just shoot,” she said.

Operation Prosper under fire

The visit came as Operation Prosper faced mounting criticism from opposition parties.

DA deputy spokesperson on police, MP Ian Cameron, said gang violence had continued unabated since the army arrived in identified hotspots, with close to 40 murders recorded across the Cape Metro in the past week alone. He questioned the value of the operation given its estimated R823 million price tag over 13 months.

“Paul Mashatile’s visit to the Cape Flats means very little unless he arrives with real answers for the hundreds of grieving families and communities devastated by shootings, gang wars and violent crime every day,” Cameron said.

Soldiers living in poor conditions

GOOD party secretary-general Brett Herron raised a separate concern about the conditions facing the deployed soldiers themselves.

He said reports indicated that 146 soldiers had access to only three toilets — effectively two, as one was reportedly broken and awaiting repairs.

“That is roughly 48 people per toilet, a ratio that falls far outside basic standards of dignity and sanitation,” he said.

Herron noted that the Department of Employment and Labour guidelines required at least 11 toilets for a workforce of that size. He said the situation was not only a logistical failure but a breach of soldiers’ constitutional rights to dignity, health and safety, and raised particular concern for female soldiers.

“A multi-million-rand operation should not result in the stripping away of basic humanity from those tasked with protecting it,” he said, calling on the ministers of defence and police to intervene urgently.”

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