Cops have denied receiving an offer of two-way radios from the City of Cape Town after it came to light that AGU officers had to rely on their cellphones to communicate with each other.
In a statement by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Safety and Security Mayco member Alderman JP Smith a week ago, the mayor cited concerns with the under-resourcing of SAPS, particularly the lack of basic equipment such as radios for Cape Town’s Anti-Gang Unit.
“Think what it means to respond to a live fire situation in the middle of gang warfare, and not even be able to speak on radio to your colleagues in the next street or even in the next house. It is amazing to me that this is not a national scandal,” Hill-Lewis said.
Smith said the Safety and Security Directorate of the City offered SAPS the use of 500 hand radios in January 2024 “when we became aware of the challenges they were experiencing with the radio network.”
However police spokesperson Novela Potelwa says SAPS bought a new batch of radios and denies receiving the City’s offer.
“The City of Cape Town has not offered radios to SAPS. We can confirm the police don’t need radios. Donations would have to go through processes.”
According to Smith, he’s had a number of conversations with Provincial SAPS Commissioner Thembisile Patekile about the radios.
“He asked if we could assist in January and I told him to bring an official letter, and we still didn’t receive it. The last time we spoke about this issue was on 3 April.”
Hill-Lewis says according to his sources, AGU in the Western Cape only has four radios among them.