CAPE TOWN, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday launched an anti-gang unit in Cape Town amid rising gang violence in the city.
"Today we are launching a national anti-gang strategy," Ramaphosa said at the launch ceremony in Hanover Park where gangsterism has taken root.
The strategy is seeking to address gangsterism in a holistic manner through a community-based approach with a focus on street-level outreach, community development, conflict mediation and changing community norms in order to reduce violence and criminality, Ramaphosa said.
With this strategy unfolding, gangsters terrorizing the communities would soon end in jail, he said.
The anti-gang unit is a national competency which will also be rolled out in places where gangsterism exists, such as Gauteng and the Eastern Cape provinces.
"This is a fantastic day, it is a day of great activity and a great demonstration of what we are going to do to go after the gangsters," he said.
This demonstrates that the government really works to deliver services to its people, Ramaphosa said.
"This is a new beginning for the people of Hanover Park and a number of other areas," he said.
Flanked by Police Minister Bheki Cele and National Police Commissioner Khehla Sithole, the president handed over a fleet of 50 brand new BMWs to the anti-gang unit in front of thousands of screaming Hanover Park residents.
"These are high-performance cars that are meant to go after the gangsters, they are going to give capacity to our police officers to be there among our people to walk the streets, to drive around and to chase gangsters," said Ramaphosa.
Some areas in Cape Town have been ravaged by gangs for a long time. Every year, dozens of people are killed in gang violence, prompting local authorities to call on the national government to send army troops to quell gangs.
In the latest incident on October 30, Pete Mihalik, a prominent criminal attorney, was shot dead allegedly by gangsters in Cape Town. Mihalik had in the past represented key suspects in Cape Town's underworld.
