Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Ms Faith Mazibuko;
National Commissioner of Police, General Riah Phiyega;
Acting Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner; Lieutenant General Lesetja Mothiba;
All SAPS Senior Officers present;
Gauteng CPF Provincial Board Chairperson, Mr Andy Mashaile;
Representatives from other Government Departments;
Representatives from Business;
Representatives from Community Policing Forums present;
Representatives from Civic Organisations;
Distinguished guests;
Community of Alexandra and surrounding areas;
Members of the media;
Ladies and gentlemen.
"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
These are the renowned words of our global icon, former President Nelson Mandela whom we laid to rest last week. May his soul rest in peace. This noble vision, confirmed in these words by Madiba, gave birth to the transition from apartheid to democracy which many in the world saluted as a miracle.
It informed the things Madiba and his comrades did to build our new democracy, all focused on achieving the goal of creating a new South Africa that belongs to all. A South Africa that is governed by the people; a country that is at peace with itself and its neighbours.
To have had a person of Madiba’s standing was not an accident of history, nor manufactured in the press as others have wrongly suggested. To have had a person of Madiba’s standing was a deliberate and consistent effort undertaken by his organization, the oldest liberation movement, that is, the African National Congress to produce leaders of such character. Even after he has departed, as a nation we shall continue to celebrate the life of this colossus, a true humanitarian and selfless leader of our people.
I have deliberately quoted and drawn on Madiba’s consonance because the selfless dedication, commitment and unity of citizens in the fight against crime must remain the foundations upon which we tackle this challenge of crime. We all know that Madiba lived in Gauteng, in fact even as his soul departed, he was here in Gauteng. If indeed we are to honour his legacy, we all have a duty to ensure that Gauteng becomes a safer province. We must do everything to follow in his footsteps.
Few years ago, many residents of this province and in fact even those from outside the province coined a very disturbing phrase about this province, referring to it as Gangster’s Paradise. It was a wrong phrase which emanated from a perception that Gauteng was a paradise for gangsters, where thieves rule and lawlessness was the order of the day.
Surprisingly though, instead of rejecting such a negative phrase, it was seen as a ‘cool’ slogan by some. Now, the fact of the matter is that such slogans were contributing negatively and affecting Gauteng’s image thus affecting its economic growth.
No business person would want to invest in a gangster’s paradise. No parent would want their children to grow in a gangster’s paradise. No normal schooling would take place in a gangster’s paradise. As government supported by Gauteng residents we had to begin to ensure that we clean out these gangsters, criminality and any form of lawlessness so that we can change such perceptions.
Today, Gauteng is known as a thriving province, as a heartbeat of South Africa’s economic pulse. We need to hasten to mention that this positive outlook did not come as a coincidence but as a collective effort by all law abiding citizens and government. We are here this morning in Alex to affirm our crusade of ensuring that Gauteng remains free from crime, that it remains a province that continues to attract investments and growth.
Since the commencement of the festive season a lot of successes have happened around the country. Since the beginning of the police operations on 1 July 2013 – end of November 2013, the following successes have been recorded in Gauteng:
- 495 cordon and search operations were conducted
- 6105 liquor outlets were closed
- 45 359 inspections were conducted at liquor premises
- 3 814 roadblocks were conducted
- 3 593 counterfeit goods confiscated
Over ten thousand (10 697) suspects were arrested and are currently through our criminal justice system. These include amongst others 1 103 for murder, 223 for carjacking, 649 for house robberies, 816 for business robberies and 1 590 for sexual offences. During the same period, police confiscated 3 392 illegal firearms, 312 454 counterfeit DVDs and 46 937 rounds of ammunition.
In fact, we emphasized this point some weeks ago when we highlighted at a broader level that police succeeded in busting drug syndicates and confiscated drugs worth over R150 million in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal respectively. Police arrested thousands of suspects, including amongst others Radovan Krejcir, his accomplices as well as a suspect linked to the murder of top forensic auditor Lawrence Moepi.
There should be no illusions that we have untouchables in our country. We are highlighting some of these high profiled cases precisely because they received huge media attention thus if we ourselves do not elevate our successes when we crack them, they would still create an impression that Gauteng is a gangster’s paradise. I have to underscore this point as it relates to our communications strategy as a department, which must be assertive and aggressive.
We must, as police officers, communicate and remain in touch with our communities on an ongoing basis. We cannot apportion or view the provision of regular updates and community interactions to the Minister of Police or the National Commissioner but as officers, you must hold regular community policing forums, keep victims of crimes updated on progress particularly in areas where you have effected arrests. Failure to do so creates an impression in the public domain that police are and ineffective when in fact on most occasions lots of successes have been achieved.
This is a fundamental point because we need to close this space and not allow certain prophets of doom to continuously occupy media spaces, peddling negative and unfounded claims about SAPS. We must drum our own successes, yet at the same time acknowledge constructive criticism where applicable, particularly from the communities which we serve.
We are here today in Alex to say, we cannot allow criminals to rule your festive season. We cannot allow criminals to rob you of your all year earnings which you acquired through legitimate hard work and dedication. This is your sweat and toiling as such you deserve to enjoy your hardwork free from crime. But to achieve all these, police cannot do it on their own, they need to your support and working together.
We want to emphasize and in fact correct some of the misconceptions around crimes against children, as we have noted a few incidents over the past month, including the shocking incidents in Diepsloot. The protection of children must not be seen solely as a policing duty. We cannot apportion parenting of children to police. Parents must parent. Police will police.
If a 10-year old child is hooked on drugs, we need to begin to question ourselves, where is the parent? When teenagers spent hours on social media, chatting to strangers who promise to look after them, where are the parents? When young girls and boys go to taverns for the whole weekend without their parents knowing their whereabouts, should we blame the police? We believe it is about time that we all play our roles in order to tackle some of these challenges.
Let us therefore strengthen our collective efforts against child abuse, neglect and exploitation. Members of society, including children, must work together with law-enforcement agencies in combating abuse, neglect and exploitation of our children.
We know that marginalized youth represent an easy target for gangs and syndicates, the community and its leaders should therefore pay attention to the issue of social exclusion. Drugs are both a crime and a cause of crime. Good parenting goes a long way in the fight against drugs and drug abuse.
As we conclude we urge all the members of the SAPS to serve communities with diligence and commitment, not only during the festive season but even beyond. We are aware that while most of the South Africans will be enjoying quality time with friends and relatives, our officers are hard at work as we speak. We thank you. We salute you.
In keeping the legacy of our colossus, Tata Madiba, we must commit ourselves to give meaning to his principles of friendship, goodwill and hope. We must commit ourselves to work for the realization of the goals of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous and safe South Africa.
Together we can do more to ensure a safe festive season in Gauteng.
I thank you.
