The Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, has accused the ANC of misleading the public on crime-fighting in the Western Cape.

Speaking on a podcast by the Democratic Alliance over the weekend, alongside the City of Cape Town’s chief for Safety and Security, JP Smith, Cameron repeated the DA’s call for the devolution of policing powers. 

“The ANC single-handedly destroyed the South African Police Service. We should say it unapologetically,” said Cameron.  

He said the speed at which metro police respond to crime incidents is “great”, arguing that giving metro police investigative authority would be a “game-changer”.  

Cameron further accused the ANC of creating false perceptions. 

“The ANC actually released a statement, I think two, three weeks ago, where they said that the Western Cape Government has failed etc. And I happened to sit next to the guy that released the statement last week on the plane and he said “I saw you reacted to my statement”. I said to him, “But you’re you’re deliberately lying. Like, why why would you do that?” And he just laughed. So, there’s a deliberate attempt to um to mislead the people uh and create this perception. And it’s it’s one of the easiest ways to cause for distrust in authorities is by misleading them with something like that, especially with crime. It’s such an emotive topic,” said Cameron.

Meanwhile, Smith stressed that the DA was not seeking to seize control of the SAPS.  

“They seem to have a completely unnatural fear of devolution,” he said.  

He explained that while metro police can assist with crime prevention, SAPS is responsible for investigations and convictions. Yet, he argued, repeated failures in prosecution allow criminals to act with impunity.  

Smith gave the example of a Bonteheuwel case where a man with two prior firearm arrests was freed twice before being implicated in a baby’s murder.  

“Had he been effectively convicted, he may well not have been in a position to commit that murder. So these mistakes, these failures aren’t victimless. They have very real and dire consequences.” 

The DA maintains that devolving powers would strengthen local law enforcement and protect communities from escalating violence.  

Smith said the city has been pressing for expanded powers for over a decade, arguing that national government’s reluctance to act continues to place lives at risk. 

Watch the full podcast below: