Tuesday, 11 August 2026

Cape Forum wants a provincial referendum on devolving police powers in the Western Cape, arguing local management of appointments and resources could improve safety in gang-hit communities.

Heinrich Weingart said Cape Forum is not pushing Cape Independence, but wants Parliament to enable provincial referendums and eventually test public support for police devolution first.

Listeners challenged the idea that Western Cape policing failures are purely about structure, with some saying corruption, weak discipline, poor recruitment and ineffective detectives are the real problem.

When the AI guest failed to come on air, the show became an open line: callers debated artificial intelligence, unemployment, foreign investment, China’s model, and whether ending poverty could justify losing freedom of speech.