opening of the Magistrate Court in Madadeni Township, Newcastle
26 October 2007
Introduction
As we gather here in Newcastle today, the home of reggae legend the late
Lucky Dube, we wish to, again, convey our condolences to the family of Luck
Dube who was killed last week. Lucky Dube will be laid to rest here in
Newcastle on Sunday. May his soul rest in peace!
It is a pleasure to be part of this very important occasion in the execution
of our justice system. Only an effective, well-organised and well-managed
justice system can ensure that our hard-won democracy is not only entrenched,
but also sustained.
During the State of the Province Address on 14 February this year, we said
we had established political peace in KwaZulu-Natal. We, however, pointed out
that our path to permanent peace was being threatened by crime of all kinds
against the person and their property. We also said that, in particular, our
people were being killed for a particular form of card, the credit card, the
bank card and cell phone SIM card.
Crime
Although our police service has and continues to do its best, the level of
crime in our province is unacceptable. That we acknowledge. People who defeated
apartheid, a system declared a crime against humanity, cannot be defeated by
crime. The war against crime will only be won through a solid partnership, a
broad Popular Front Against Crime.
Through the Popular Front Against Crime, we seek to inculcate in our people
a new view of crime: that it is dastardly, shameful and against the values of
democracy. We must create a new cadre of activists in the war against crime and
criminality in order to move towards the development of a secure future for all
our people.
The Stolen Goods Market, in particular, remains a challenge. We are already
doing the following to address this phenomenon:
* discouraging support of the stolen goods market
* canvassing the causes and impact of this type of crime on the economy,
primary and secondary victims as well as market participants
* emphasising the family as a unit to fight this type of crime
* reducing the strength and prevalence of the stolen goods market leading up to
the 2010 Soccer World Cup and beyond.
The message we want to send out to our people is that crime does not
pay.
Justice and Crime Prevention Cluster
Earlier this year, we launched the KwaZulu-Natal Justice and Crime
Prevention Cluster which seeks to improve the operation of our anti-crime drive
in the province. We have established the Criminal Justice System, and the
Provincial Integrated Justice (PIJ) Forum.
The PIJ Forum, which is chaired by a judge, includes the South African
Police Service (SAPS), the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the Department
of Correctional Services, the Department of Community Safety and Liaison and
the Department of Welfare. Through this Forum, a mechanism exists for a
comprehensive response to the strengthening of the Criminal Justice System. We
are closing all the loopholes which criminals are using to escape arrest,
prosecution and sentencing.
Legislative environment
The Constitution entitles the province through its Department of Community
Safety and Liaison to monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of
policing. We are also charged with the promotion of good relations between the
police and communities. The White Paper on Safety and Security indicates that
the provincial responsibilities are:
* initiating and co-ordinating social crime prevention programmes
* mobilising resources for social crime in order to achieve more effective
crime prevention
* evaluating and supporting the social crime prevention programmes at local
government level
* implementing and taking joint responsibilities for social crime
prevention
* establishing crime prevention programmes in areas where local government is
poorly resourced or lacks capacity and the establishing of public and private
partnerships to support crime prevention.
One of the challenges we face in dealing with crime is fractured
inter-governmental co-operation, collaboration and responses between and within
all spheres of government. In response to this, as government, we have taken
the decision to take urgent steps:
* to co-ordinate provincial and local implementation of the JCPS cluster
priorities
* to ensure alignment of activities between national and provincial and local
government
* to monitor and report on implementation progress and challenges at provincial
and local level.
Crime summit
On 21 and 22 May 2007, we hosted a Provincial Crime Summit in Durban. The
summit was aimed at promoting integration and an Interim Committee comprising
representatives from the SAPS, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Justice
and Community Safety and Liaison was established. This was in order to
co-ordinate the formation of the KwaZulu-Natal Justice, Crime Prevention and
Security Cabinet Cluster.
This programme will address priority crimes while strengthening relations
with business and the community. We need to be upfront with the role
communities must play in the fight against crime. While it is understandable to
fear crime, we cannot be paralysed by it.
Crime prevention
We have already started the Volunteer Social Crime Prevention Programme
(VSCPP). It is envisaged that this programme will lead to a reduction in social
crime, a corresponding reduction in the fear of crime and the promotion of
KwaZulu-Natal as a safe place for communities, tourists and businesses. We
started with 1 000 volunteers. This will rise to 2 100 over the build up to
2010.
Role of traditional leaders
As government we have trained 215 Amakhosi on a crime prevention module
developed in partnership with the University of Zululand. This year we intend
to continue cascading the same training to other levels of traditional
leadership and also extend it to various religious groupings.
Communities in dialogue
In 2006 we announced the Communities in Dialogue Programme. We have ongoing
programmes in Ezakheni and Charlestown, not far from here, over land issues. It
is our intention, as the government of KwaZulu-Natal, to mobilise communities
to assume responsibility for peace, stability and safer places to live, through
Proactive Community Dialogue Sessions. We believe that the success of these
dialogues would ensure that peace is sustained and crime drastically
reduced.
This programme has become an important resource for our local leadership to
promote peace and security and improve the "State of the Village".
Conclusion
In conclusion, we would like to commend the police and justice officials for
their swift arrest and charging of the suspects in the Lucky Dube murder case.
The Lucky Dube case shows us that the collaboration of communities is critical
to end crime. We understand it is the community which identified the get-away
car; it was the community which helped identify the direction in which the
killers fled. The police and prosecution authorities then kicked in, working 24
hours like a well-oiled machine, to ensure the suspects are apprehended.
It is against this background, therefore, that we open this Magistrates'
Court here in Madadeni today. It is an affirmation of the supremacy of the
importance of the enforcement of our criminal justice system. It is this kind
of co-operation that we will continue to look forward to ensure that social
justice and prosperity prevails in our province.
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
26 October 2007
