Representative from the Office of the President, Mr Mzoxolo Maki;
Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Ms Faith Mazibuko;
National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Commissioner Nontsikelelo Jolingana;
BACSA Chairperson, Mr Peter Moyo;
BACSA Deputy Chairperson, Mr Brand Pretorius;
BACSA CEO, Advocate Simi Pillay-Van Graan;
SAPS Lieutenant Generals present;
SAPS Provincial Commissioners present;
All BACSA Board of Directors present;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
We are humbled as the police leadership to have been invited to address this important occasion this evening. We do not, at any point, take such platforms for granted because one of the fundamental pillars of our crime prevention and crime combatting approaches is premised along strengthening partnerships.
Over the past 19 years, a lot has been done towards creating a safer South Africa.These efforts could not have flourished if Government was working alone but through the support of various partners, including the business sector.
South Africa 2013 is a much better place than South Africa 1994. We can state this without any fear of contradiction, that in less than two decades, we have transformed our country from being an international pariah, a negative force in favour of racism globally, reaction, destabilisation and aggression; to an important international player for democracy, social progress, national independence, equality and peace.
Government’s programme for the economy is the pursuit of growth and development. However growth and development cannot bear the desired results if crime is not tackled.That is precisely why we have reiterated that crime is our common enemy, irrespective of our differing socio-economic conditions.
To this end, as the police leadership, management and the entire South African Police Service (SAPS) we have focused considerable energy on efforts to not only reducing crime, but also towards improving our criminal justice system in its entirety.The work that has been done over the past five years of the current administration serves to provide a strong base upon which we can build for the future.
Allow me to reflect on some of the current challenges facing us as nation, issues which may not necessarily be of business nature, yet they impact on all of us. Crime affects all the people of our country across class and colour. It is therefore our common enemy.
Violence against women, children and the elderly is still prevalent in our society. This phenomenon militates against our national effort of creating a caring and humane society, underpinned by values of human solidarity, justice, peace and development. We are, as we must, strengthen measures aimed at fighting the spectre of violence against women, children and the elderly.
The past months we witnessed some gory incidents of toddlers who were mutilated, the elderly being raped and abuse of teenagers. Police have been accused, fairly or unfairly, of not doing enough to prevent these sorts of crimes from happening. Various independent voices have expressed what should be done and we have listened and engaged them.
In dealing with the issues of crime, government proceeds from a premise that a rising quality of life also means improvement in the safety and security of citizens; in their homes, in environments where they live, work and engage in extramural activities.
We have in the past emphasized the point that the battle against crime cannot be separated from the war on want. In the main, incidents of contact crime such as murder, grievous bodily harm and rape occur among acquaintances in poor communities where living and entertainment environments do not allow for decent family and social life.This speaks to the challenge of addressing the three resilient fault lines, which are unemployment, poverty and inequality as identified by the governing party.
Some of these matters are not primarily security matter and that is why Government has adopted a multi-disciplinary approach.The approach includes cooperation with health, sport, social development, the economic cluster and obviously within the justice, crime prevention and security cluster. If society expects police alone to deal with this scourge it would be a wrong expectation.
We all have a role in our different spheres and expertise.We want to urge you as the business sector to play a prominent role on such matters. We need to hear your voice because the majority of victims of such crimes are employees who contribute to our country’s economic growth.We will of course from our side continue to capacitate the police, improve training and strengthen partnerships so that we tackle these challenges collectively.
One of the major challenges facing the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster is around lawlessness during public protests.To contextualise this matter, to protest is a democratic right of all citizens to express themselves as enshrined in our Constitution, however there is no prescription of lawlessness when protesting.
The impact, which I have to stress has been a negative impact, is that the policing of public protests draws the police away from their normal policing activities and forces the police to redirect resources.This can lead to gaps in normal policing which are sharpened when the police personnel deployed to the policing of such events are drawn from local police stations.
The business sector, in this regard, has also been affected because irrespective of strategies and methods which we develop both as Government and Business, for such strategies to be effectively implemented they require personnel.
The world as we know is changing and is now characterized by global influences that affect economies worldwide. We have seen how the financial crisis has had on the trade in various developing and developed countries. With the economic downturn, South Africa and in fact SAPS was not spared.
Over a 10-year period, we recruited mass volumes of police officers (around 10 000 per annum) but due to the economic downturn, over the past three or four years we have had to reduce our recruitment approach and are now recruiting around 3000 per annum. This has culminated with a total personnel strength of 197 946 with a comparative police vs. population ratio of 1:336.
To demonstrate this strain around policing, since the start of this financial year the police have managed 6028 peaceful protests and 974 unrest incidents. A total of 1499 persons were apprehended during this period. We have been firm in our approach because as the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster we secured a combined 118 years imprisonment on convictions since the beginning of 2013.
As government we appreciate the efforts undertaken by the business sector; because you could have easily adopted a stance of sitting on the other side and throw tirades of criticism at every crime reduction effort. Instead, you adopted a stance of partnering with us.
The partnership with BACSA has extended over the last 17 years and was endorsed and strengthened in 2012 when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two parties.This MoU solidified the foundation that had been established since 1996.
To this end, we are pleased to announce that a new MoU between SAPS and BACSA has been finalized and will be signed in due course.This step is important because it will align the priority areas of both organizations to meet the commitments made in the National Development Plan.
Other projects include addressing the illicit economy which is eroding the growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and thereby retarding socio-economic development in South Africa. Both government and business are victims of the illicit economy which competes with the legitimate economy. BACSA’s role in addressing this initiative will have direct impact on reducing crime in the country especially organized crime.
As BACSA you have been contributing in mobilizing and coordinating your resources, be they through capacity building, sharing business expertise with police, information, processes and technologies.The challenge we face, both as government and business is to guard and protect this good cooperation. It is a deterrent to criminal acts as such poses real threat to anyone who is against peace, stability and a crime free South Africa.
As captains of the industry present this evening, we urge you to continue supporting the important work undertaken by BACSA, which enables it to support government, without which government would be deprived of access to critical skills and expertise more readily available in the private sector. We also applaud you has having been a catalyst for the introduction and operationalization of innovations, such as the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system.
Since 1994 Government has made substantial progress in transforming the economy to benefit the majority, but serious challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality remain. In this regard, Government will continually encourage the growth and strategic commitment of investment capital, including private savings, fiscal capital expenditure, investment from public corporations, and foreign direct investments.
The progress we have made with regard to our economy as well as implementing programmes which has resulted in consistent downward crime trends, give us hope that we are on the right track.
Government moves from a premise that it is only through strong partnerships that we can create safer environments which enable economic development, growth and attract investments.
Like the road to social progress, it is always under construction. For this partnership to succeed it will require a selfless sacrifice towards a creation of a safe and secure South Africa that flourishes. We dare not fail.
I thank you.
