DA slams Nhleko’s about-turn on army deployment in Port Elizabeth

“There will be no safe Easter for the people of Port Elizabeth ‘s Northern Areas‚” lamented one of the city’s mayoral hopefuls on Friday.

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Athol Trollip said the African National Congress (ANC) “will have more blood on its hands” after “police minister Nathi Nhleko has broken his February 22 promise to deploy the police and the army” the gang-ridden area.

“This desperate community has been begging for assistance in their fight against gangsterism and crime‚ which has fallen on deaf ears in the ANC government.

“Instead‚ minister Nhleko has done an about-turn on previous commitments like the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay‚ joining to the list of endless broken promises.”

This came after Nhleko revealed‚ while visiting the area on Thursday to launch Operation Lockdown‚ that the army would not be deployed as he had vowed a month earlier.

Said Trollip: “The gangsterism crisis in PE’s Northern Areas needs rapid intervention and political will‚ both of which will not materialise under an ANC government.”