Let me first take this opportunity to thank the youth of Buffalo City, especially boxing contestants from Duncan Village, Mdantsane, King Williams Town and Kidds Beach for participating in this tournament and to ensure that we close our Youth Month Programme in style.
On behalf of the Department of Safety and Liaison, I would like to further thank the masses of our people, who joined the March against Crime from Msimango Street down to Douglas Smith Road to this hall.
Today, through our participation in all these activities, we are sending a clear message that working together we can win the war against crime and reclaim our streets from the hands of criminals.
This activity marks launching pad of our mass mobilisation strategy, which is in line with priorities enshrined in the ANC’s Manifesto and Provincial Government’s Eight Strategic Priorities that will see active participation of all sectors of our communities, especially young people in crime prevention.
As we traverse in this social transformation process of our country, it has become evident that all age groups of our society, including youth, should be taken on board if we want to effectively uproot tendencies that undermine the progress that we have made as the democratic state to change the lives of our people for the better.
Sport, especially boxing, has been identified as a mobilisation tool in order to ensure that we take away our children from the hands of criminals and become agents of change and the vanguard for moral regeneration.
I am pleased to note the massive participation of girls in this programme and the respect that the boys are showing to them.
It is through building mutual respect at this level that we can create a society that embraces a value system, which is consistent with the values enshrined in our Constitution, where men and women are regarded as equal.
As leaders of tomorrow, we encourage our youth to be in the front line in the battle against crime, because indeed at these trying times of our young democracy, we need new energies, vigour and enthusiasm in order to effectively deal with the social challenges that continue to impede our progress as a nation.
For the past two years, we have adopted Duncan Village Township as one of the townships that require strong support in terms of crime prevention initiatives with a particular focus on youth mobilisation against crime.
The Buffalo City area is an internationally acclaimed “Mecca of Boxing” and continues to nurture African children’s talent in a manner that distinguishes South Africa from the rest of the sporting world.
This approach seeks to inculcate a common understanding that safety and security are the responsibility not only of law enforcement agencies.
In his State of the Nation Address on 3 June 2009, President Jacob Zuma indicated that we will embark on a programme of crime prevention and mass mobilisation to ensure that our youth and communities in general are involved in programmes of community policing and safety that would include street patrols, neighbourhood watches, reporting crime and corruption.
A focal point of crime prevention and mass mobilisation strategies is to strengthen our Community Police Structures through active participation in street and village committees.
By launching this Neighbourhood Watch Programme here today, we are beginning a process towards the establishment of street committees and village committees throughout the province to ensure that we reclaim our streets and villages from those who deny our people the right to enjoy the freedom we have struggled for.
We further call upon our youth to join forces with us in fighting the scourge of human trafficking which has been recently highlighted to be predominant in the Eastern Cape particularly in rural areas.
We will embark on massive public messaging campaigns within schools and communities and ensure that our law enforcement agencies are trained to deal with any human trafficking situation and prompt response to it.
Gearing up for 2010
As we prepare for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we need to start working together with our law enforcement agencies.
The Department of Safety and Liaison plans to recruit 500 volunteers to assist in crowd control and general customer care, especially in Public Viewing Areas, which we are going to have in Buffalo City, Makana, Matatiele, Cofimvaba, Lady Grey and Port St Johns.
This is an opportunity for local youth to participate in hosting a successful first ever “African World Cup.”
Partnership against crime
In defence of our youth and the future of our country, this year we are going to work together with various provincial and national departments in the fight against crime within a specific sector e.g. Department of Education on the Safer Schools Programme, Department of Social Development on victim empowerment, Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs on the impact of liquor as a contributor to crime and tourism safety etc.
We call upon youth structures to participate actively in programmes that will be implemented after this process and help to inculcate a culture to serve and protect the community and public property, while simultaneously promoting peace, security and comfort.
I would like to call upon the business sector to join forces with us to ensure that we sustain these programmes for the benefit of our communities and provide lasting solutions to the challenges that continue to haunt our young democracy.
In conclusion, I would like to thank every stakeholder that participated in the planning and success of this project, hoping that we will continue to work together to provide the first line of defence, especially for the vulnerable groups of our society, which include women, children and people with disabilities.
Our sincere gratitude further goes to government officials from the Department of Safety and Liaison, Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, South African Police Service (SAPS), Community Police Forum, East London Amateur Boxing Organisation, Buffalo City Municipality and members of the Duncan Village Neighbourhood Watch Programme.
Let us continue to contribute in the building of a crime free society so as to ensure that the Eastern Cape Province is a compelling place to live, work, invest and play in.
Working together we can do more to fight against crime
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Transport and Safety, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
