F Cachalia: Launch of Gauteng Safety Strategy and 'Take Charge'
Campaign

30 March 2007

Premier Mbhazima Shilowa
Deputy Minister of Safety and Security
Members of the Executive Council
Mayors
Members of mayoral committees responsible for public safety
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Councillors
Heads of departments
Representatives of sectors
Comrades and friends

Introduction

As we gather here at Freedom Square once more in this place of memory and of
hope, this monument to humanity's striving for freedom, it is appropriate that
we should reaffirm our commitment to democratic values, social justice and
fundamental human rights. And we must make the connection, as did our
forbearers, between the idea of freedom and our need for security. The high
levels of crime and fear of crime that we are currently experiencing is
incompatible with the enjoyment of the freedoms that we have struggled for. But
just as we have overcome injustice in the past so can we now through collective
action overcome crime and violence. As the Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said
recently, "The building of a society where all individuals, households and
communities enjoy a good quality of life because they live, work and travel in
a law governed society free from fear, violence and crime is a goal that we
must all work together to achieve."

Although we may sometimes feel overwhelmed by our fear, we should draw
strength from our hopes and our capacity to act. Many people in many
communities across the province in Naledi and in Sebokeng, in Meadowlands and
in Parkview are already taking their future into their own hands by working
with the police to fight crime. Leaders of civil society, religious communities
and the business sector have entered into discussions with the national
government in order to make a constructive contribution. South Africans of
Italian origin have made a commitment to renovate 10 police stations in Gauteng
and an announcement on this initiative will be made soon.

The 'Take Charge' campaign has received expressions of support from Kaizer
Chiefs and our national cricket team the Proteas. Tomorrow I will be addressing
rugby supporters at Ellis Park at the game between the Lions and the Australian
team 'the Brumbies.' In the lead up to this event we consulted with over 300
organisations across the province. We are in fact living through a unique
moment in our country's history when the possibilities for united action
against crime are unprecedented.

Today in Kliptown, on 30 March 2007, the Gauteng Provincial Government is
launching its provincial safety strategy. The strategy recognises that the
provision of safety and security is in the first instance the responsibility of
the government as a whole and of the law enforcement agencies. National,
provincial and local government must therefore work together in a concerted,
focused and effective way to improve levels of public safety.

The Gauteng Safety Strategy

It has long been recognised internationally that crime in highly urbanised
regions around the world such as Gauteng occurs as a result of the complex
interplay of various social, economic and historical factors such as poverty
and inequality, family breakdown, the availability of firearms and the abuse of
drugs and alcohol. While these factors may explain, they can never justify
violent crime.

Since crime is a multifaceted phenomenon that manifests in different ways in
different places there is no single solution or 'magic bullet' that will result
in sudden and sustained reductions in crime. What is required is a
comprehensive and integrated strategy as well as co-ordinated action by
national, provincial and local governments.

The pillars of the comprehensive and integrated crime reduction strategy
adopted by our provincial government are:

* improving the quality of policing
* promoting effective social crime prevention initiatives
* strengthening institutional arrangements to better understand and respond to
crime in an integrated manner
* encouraging community participation in crime reduction.

Take Charge Campaign

Today, we are also launching the 'Take Charge' campaign as part of our
determined effort to address the challenges related to improving public safety.
The campaign seeks to revitalise and strengthen Community Policing Forums
(CPFs), mobilise civil society and stakeholders and people of all political
persuasions and backgrounds to act in support of the agencies of law
enforcement and in partnership with government to fight crime.

In launching this campaign government seeks only to act as an initiator and
facilitator. The 'Take Charge' campaign provides a framework for grassroots,
decentralised and localised initiatives to take root as part of a provincial
wide effort.

This campaign also aims to strengthen the bonds of trust between the
community and the police. This can only be achieved however, by improving the
way in which policing is experienced by communities and the quality of the
service they receive. This campaign will increase the intensity of public
scrutiny of the police. As a service in a democratic society, the police should
welcome this as a positive source of organisational transformation. I will be
meeting with all police station commissioners to discuss ways of improving
performance and service delivery to communities.

However, it is also important for communities to provide support and
recognition for the courageous and professional work carried out by police
officers in the interests of their safety. We should remind ourselves today of
the recent killing of two young constables Mmakwena Manoko and Monawabisi
Mbelekwana.

In recognition of outstanding service we will today honour 20 police
officers, eight metro police officers and two traffic law enforcement officers
from the Department of Community Safety.

The 'Take Charge' campaign also seeks by engaging with individuals, families
and communities to address those issues that have a negative impact on levels
of public safety and which cannot be effectively resolved through better
service delivery by government departments and more effective law enforcement
alone. Child abuse, domestic violence, criminality in schools, the abuse of
alcohol and its impact on crime and road safety, drug abuse, corruption in law
enforcement agencies and other public services challenge us all as parents,
educators and community leaders to examine our norms, values and behaviour.

To improve safety in our communities:

* we must adhere to rules and respect the rule of law
* report crime, not offer bribes and blow the whistle on corruption
* expose criminals in our families and communities
* not buy stolen goods
* protect our children through responsible parenting.

The 'Take Charge' campaign, to have a meaningful impact on crime must be a
campaign of rolling mass action. In the coming months the Gauteng Department of
Community Safety will:

Provide additional support to CPFs to assist them to engage their
communities, to partner with the police and to develop localised responses in
each precinct. We have already developed guidelines for CPFs and this year we
will be invading accredited training at a university for elected CPF members.
The Department will provide support for two public meetings per CPF as part of
the 'Take Charge' campaign this year. We encourage leaders in community based
organisations (CBOs) and leaders to provide support to CPFs. These should
include shop stewards, educators, religious and other community leaders and
those with professional skills.

In further support of CPFs, patroller groups will be launched in 26 areas.
These volunteers will be provided with suitable accredited training, equipment,
transport and food. I want to stress that the patrollers do not have policing
powers and are required to act at all times within the framework of the law.
They will be deployed at 'hot-spots' under the supervision of the police to
protect people on the way to and from work, children on their way to and from
school, elderly people collecting a pension or people as they go about their
daily business in public spaces. These patrollers will reduce the opportunities
for predatory crime. This programme has been developed on the basis of the
proven success of patroller groups and similar neighbourhood watch initiatives
in places like, Alexandra, Everton, Mamelodi, Naledi and Sebokeng. The
Department of Community Safety is simply extending this programme to areas with
inadequate resources so that they also benefit from this tried and tested
volunteer model. The Department would like to encourage similar initiatives
where necessary across the province.

In April we will be launching a toll free telephone 'hot-line' which can be
used to report service delivery complaints against the police, as well as to
provide information on crime and criminal activity in your community on an
anonymous basis. This information will be passed on to the police for
action.

We recognise the importance of sectoral mobilisation. Since September last
year we have been holding sector specific crime summits with sectors including
the youth, gender, business, labour, faith based organisations (FBOs), hostel
communities, sports organisations and non-government organisations (NGOs). Each
sector has been encouraged to develop their own campaigns to reduce crime. We
also want to encourage business organisations to provide support to community
based anti-crime initiatives.

We have also noted the success that partnerships with stakeholders can have.
Examples include the partnership between the police and organisations such as
Business Against Crime and the South African Bank Risk Centre (SABRIC) to
tackle business relate robberies. We have also used this approach to achieve
success against the problem of taxi violence. We will be seeking to extend this
approach in addressing other types of priority crimes such as house and
business robberies.

Conclusion

The time has come to stand up and 'Take Charge! Sekunjalo, the time is now!
Together we can fight crime in our communities, our province and our country.
Amandla awethu, all power to the people.

Thank you!

Issued by: Department of Community Safety, Gauteng Provincial
Government
30 March 2007
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gpg.gov.za/)