4 December 2006
The meeting, attended by ministers of the Justice, Crime Prevention and
Security (JCPS) cluster of Government led by the chair of the JCPS cluster,
Minister for Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, and business members led by
Derek Cooper from Business Leadership South Africa met in Johannesburg on
Monday, 4 December.
This meeting reflects the extension and maturing of the process following on
the November Lekgotla, which was preceded by other meetings including the
meeting on 25 August 2006 between the President and the Big Business Working
Group. We are indeed witnessing the harmonisation of the partnership between
business and government in the fight against crime.
The meeting focused on the clarification of roles for the four Working
Groups with the aim of providing clearer definition of what the working groups
will do. The four Working Groups comprise:
* review of the Criminal Justice System
* baseline effectiveness
* violent organised crime
* mobilising the public, communication and innovations in the fight against
crime.
The JCPS cluster provided a comprehensive report on the following
issues:
* improving the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System
* police operations with special emphasis on plans for the festive season.
Business in turn made presentations on the projects undertaken by business
in support of government and a review of the lessons learnt to inform future
interventions. The resultant discussion dealt with strategic and tactical
questions facing us as a nation, for these to be refined and packaged by the
Working Groups.
The meeting today agreed that in the future, the Working Groups would
formally report progress directly to the Leadership Forum. At the next meeting
the:
* reports of the Working Group should be informed by strategic intent
outlining objectives, targets and tasks, as well as short term quick wins where
applicable
* governance structures of each Working Group should clearly spell out their
requirements in terms of people, skills, financial resources, processes
(existing and proposed) information and effectiveness
* Working Groups should formalise an appropriate reporting format including
measurement criteria
* Working Groups should propose recommendations.
Finally there was strong consensus that Government remains the key player in
initiating and implementing the necessary interventions while Business can play
a strong supporting role.
For enquiries contact:
Siphiwe Nzimande, CEO: Business Against Crime South Africa
Tel: (011) 883 1679
Cell: 083 633 8681
E-mail: Siphiwe@bac.org.za
Trevor Bloem, Spokesperson for the Ministry for Safety & Security
Tel: (012) 393 15123
Cell: 082 778 3561
E-mail: bloemb@saps.org.za
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
4 December 2006
