Goeienaand dames en here. Good evening ladies and gentleman. Molweni manene namanenekazi. Die Wes-Kaapse regering lewer dienste in al drie ons provinsie se amptelike tale. Maar net ingeval julle dink my hele toespraak gaan in al drie tale wees, wil ek julle verseker dit sal nie, want my Engels en Afrikaans is nie so goed nie.
Thank you for affording me this platform on which to address you this evening.
Mens wonder altyd wat die beste ding is om oor te praat wanneer jy na hierdie tipe geleentheid genooi word. En dan bepeins jy dit vir dae en selfs weke. Maar julle het sommer direk gesê: "Kom praat met ons oor hoe die landbouer die Suid Afrikaanse Polisie Diens (SAPD) se hand kan sterk". En dit maak my sommer opgewonde. Dit sê vir my hierdie mense wil mos sommer lekker saamwerk. Hierdie uitnodiging maak dit duidelik dat boere wil hande vat en 'n verskil maak.
After 27 years in the police service, I will probably always be a policeman at heart, so when communities are saying: "We want to be involved and be part of the solution", it really is music to my ears.
However, as the Western Cape Minister of Community Safety, I have a constitutional duty to oversee the work of the SAPS and ensure that all people in this province get good service from the police. We no longer speak of the police force, but rather the police service - service being the key factor. All communities are entitled to good service delivery, whether urban or rural.
I'm currently holding a series of public meetings around the Western Cape, specifically in areas that have been identified as "crime hotspots". At these meetings I invite the communities to bring their concerns and suggestions for making their neighbourhoods safer places to live and work in. To this effect we're saying that involved communities are safer communities. The police cannot possibly be everywhere and see everything. They therefore rely on you and I to be vigilant, come forward with information of any wrongdoing or criminal activity that we are aware of and take responsibility for the safety of our neighbourhoods.
As such we have seen some amazing results in certain areas where the crime stats have dropped remarkably as a result. People are getting involved with their Community Policing Forums and neighbourhood watches are going from strength to strength. Perfect solution in the fight against urban crime.
Your challenges are somewhat different though. Landelike polisieëring is 'n perd van 'n ander kleur.
When one looks at incidents of violence in rural areas, one has to consider various factors when trying to combat the problem.
Labour unions have been known to blame certain farmers for poor working conditions and exploitation that could lead to revenge attacks, robberies and theft. According to a spokesperson from the Food and Allied Workers Union, part of the problem is that farm workers are difficult to organise because they are so widely dispersed and farmers often see organised farm workers as a threat. The unions do however claim that when they create a platform for farm workers to negotiate and communicate with farm owners, it has often led to good understanding and better conditions for all - ultimately decreasing the threat of labour or race-related violence from both sides.
Police investigations into crimes on farms have often also uncovered illegal labour practices where foreigners have been working on some farms for many years without proper documentation. To this end, government has to address the problem of certain farmers employing illegal labourers in order to avoid compliance with labour laws. Note, I understand the willingness of foreigners to accept work - any work - just to survive, and I know that it's not everyone who engages in illegal labour practice. Furthermore, there are foreigners who do have legal work permits, but the challenge there lies in addressing the perception amongst the locals, the foreigners are in effect robbing them of work opportunities. I understand that, and you may understand that, but to many of the locals, this is cause for violence and unrest.
In response to some of these concerns, SAPS is rolling out a rural safety plan in collaboration with unions and other government department. This plan is meant to focus on developing security education and awareness in rural areas, ensuring greater compliance with laws and enhancing the intelligence capacity of SAPS in fighting crime.
After consultation between SAPS and various other stakeholders in April this year, a strategy was formulated and its core objectives include:
- Improving service delivery at rural police stations which are often isolated and under-resourced
- Increased police visibility in rural areas, while at the same time lifting the ban on reservists - we saw the phenomenal results of increased visible policing during the FIFA World Cup - we can get there again
- Improving communication between the various communities in rural areas, i.e. farmers, farm workers and other stakeholders. This requires rolling out of sector policing in rural areas
- Improving safety awareness by educating rural communities on how to make themselves less vulnerable to attack
- Improving crime intelligence in rural areas, supporting crime investigation and crime prevention activities
- Revitalised stock theft special units to combat stock theft.
It is clear though that a collaborated effort between SAPS and the entire rural community is needed if we are going to succeed in overcoming the challenge of fighting crime in rural areas.
Nou soos wat ek aan die begin genoem het, is my rol dié van siviele oorsig. Ek moet seker maak dat die manne in blou wel aan julle behoeftes voorsien en dat hulle dienste van die hoogste moontlike gehalte lewer.
Of dit nou stedelike of landelike veiligheid is, een ding is verseker. As belanghebbendes, is dit van kardinale belang dat julle betrokke raak.
So I appeal to you to attend the CPF sub forum meetings. But you can also do so much more, with basic measures.
We all know that excessive consumption of alcohol often prompts people to behave in ways we think is totally uncharacteristic. As die ou nugter is kan botter nie in sy mond smelt nie, maar as die dop eers trek, sien hy mos vir enigiets of enigiemand kans. So my pleidooi is, beheer die aantal alkohol wat julle plase binnekom vir julle werkers.
Beveilig jul plase. Kontrolleer toegang tot julle eiendom met doeltreffende hekke.
And please refrain from employing foreign nationals without the necessary work permits. This opens a whole new can of worms that can so easily be avoided. We recently witnessed how the whole of South Africa rallied behind Ghana when they were the only team holding Africa's hopes up during the FIFA World Cup. But at the same time we also know from experience, particularly in this region, the sad reality of xenophobic violence from one African to another when people think their bread and butter is being threatened.
I am not pointing fingers and this is not about blaming farmers for the violence, but I am asking that we think of the consequences of our actions.
Looking at some of the most recent crime stats in this area, we see that for the period 2008/09, we had 2 murders, 0 farm attacks, 4 robberies, 3 cases of rape, 8 of stock theft and 76 of theft.
Now while these figures are lower than in many other regions, one murder is one too many. One rape or robbery is one too many. On the plus side though, these figures can all become zero. When we all start taking responsibility for the safety of not only our immediate, but our extended communities, we can win in this fight against crime.
Let us put basic measures in place - small steps that could go a long way to bringing about safer rural communities.
- Educate your workers on the pitfalls of alcohol abuse - make sure they are equipped with knowledge. Hulle weet mos self hoe lekker leef en werk hulle saam van Maandag to Donderdag, maar kom Vrydag en die makietie begin, dan draai hulle mos op mekaar, soms met noodlottige gevolge. As werkgewer, word dit dan jou probleem.
- Maak seker hulle verstaan die onomkeerbare gevolge van Fetale Akoholsindroom (FAS) en hoe hulle daardie kind se geleenthede net daar afsny.
- En laastens, ek verstaan die frustrasie, maar in die geval van diefstal of enige ander oortreding, is dit van kardinale belang dat boere klagtes gaan lê. Dit help nie ons is bewus van die feit dat druiwediefstal 'n groot hoofpyn is, maar die misdaadstatistieke dui nie daarop nie. Wanneer misdade nie aangemeld word nie, affekteer dit die akuraatheid van die misdaadstatistieke, wat weer die ontplooiing van hulpbronne affekteer.
In closing, 94.5 Kfm recently launched their LeadSA initiative, which challenges each and every South African, no matter where they are, to stand up for South Africa. To commit themselves to making a difference in their immediate environment. This project has electrified South Africa as we would all like to keep alive the spirit we had during the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Almal het gepraat van die "gees". Dis nog nie te laat om daai gees te behou nie. Maar dit verg 'n bydrae van ieder en elk van ons.
Baie dankie.
