The Democratic Alliance (DA)-led city of Cape Town and Western Cape provincial government on Monday threatened to approach the courts to challenge the constitutionality of the white paper on policing which was approved by the Cabinet in April. In his budget vote speech in Parliament earlier in 2016‚ Police Minister Nathi Nhleko said the white paper would‚ among other things‚ demilitarise the South African Police Service (SAPS) with enhanced civilian oversight.Fransman wins part of court challenge against ANCControversial African National Congress (ANC) Western Cape leader Marius Fransman has scored a minor court victory against his own party. However‚ in a joint statement on Monday‚ Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and Western Cape community safety MEC Dan Plato‚ raised concerns that the white paper as it stands would take the Metro Police Service away from the municipality and put under the control of SAPS.Maimane urges South Africans to honour Mandela’s dreamDemocratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane says South Africans should honour former president Nelson Mandela's dream of a non-racial country by voting for the DA in the upcoming local government elections. "We believe that this suggested centralised force is a replica of apartheid policing forces. Policing should in fact be more decentralised‚ and the Metro Police System should be allowed to operate where it is in working order‚" De Lille and Plato said in the statement.De Lille and Plato said the Civilian Secretariat for Police had circulated the white paper and requested comments from all spheres of government‚ but comments and input from both local and provincial government have in large part been ignored.This is not the first time that the provincial government has clashed with the national authority on policing matters.In 2012‚ former police minister Nathi Mthethwa approached the courts to oppose the establishment of the Khayelitsha inquiry‚ arguing that it was politically motivated. But in 2013‚ the Constitutional Court found that section 206 (5) of the Constitution gives a province the power to establish a commission of inquiry into policing‚ as it has oversight powers.In their joint statement on Monday‚ De Lille and Plato said the Constitution specifically provides for a municipal police service."We shall‚ as the city of Cape Town‚ vigorously defend that constitutional entitlement. Should Minister Nathi Nhleko continue to bulldoze these policy decisions until they become an act of Parliament‚ we will go to court to challenge their constitutionality."The white paper recommends that all local law enforcement services should be limited to traffic and by-law enforcement.One of the reasons it gives for recommending the creation of a single national police force is that limited resources don't allow for "the huge duplication of functions".But De Lille and Plato said in their statement that this was a misnomer because city of Cape Town law enforcement services regularly conduct joint operations with the South African Police Service."With local government being at the coalface of delivery‚ we have prioritised building a safe city and empowered staff to respond directly to the safety concerns of our residents. A single police force only serves to increase bureaucracy and delay the speed at which the metro police can respond to said needs. It will undo the progress that we have made possible thus far." The city and the province would not allow the "one-size-fits all" crime reduction strategy proposed in the white paper. "Our Metro police department is much better positioned to respond to crime at a local community level and their excellent results are evident. We will be getting ready to mobilise public opinion for the impending public participation process which is the next process in the progress of the white paper." De Lille and Plato stated that the white paper's support of the National Development Plan's vision of a modernised‚ transformed and efficient criminal justice system and a highly skilled police service are welcomed‚ especially the strengthened commitment towards the demilitarisation of the police and increased discipline and ethical behaviour within the police.However‚ they said‚ any policy put forward has to address the policy gaps which have previously existed in general‚ and especially as this pertains to the functioning of community-based structures and in particular the community policing forums and neighbourhood watch structures.The Western Cape government said it was of the strong opinion that‚ apart from the problems identified around the integration of Metro Police into SAPS‚ the white paper on policing falls short on the oversight mandate of provincial governments‚ specialised policing and the role of neighbourhood watch organisations...