religious leaders
19 July 2007
President Thabo Mbeki together with several government ministers and senior
government officials met with leading religious leaders in the country at the
Union Buildings, Tshwane, today.
The meeting was briefed on progress regarding the implementation of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between government and religious leaders and
on the restructuring of the board of the Moral Regeneration Movement. This will
be completed in due course.
The meeting received a draft Bill of Responsibilities which seeks to
inculcate responsibility amongst young people within the context of the rights
and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic. It was agreed that
further consultations would be held to refine the draft, after which it would
be published for public debate especially among the youth themselves.
The meeting also received a report on government strategies to prevent and
combat crime. The report noted that while crime remained unacceptably high,
significant progress has been registered over the years. In this regard,
government reported that through increased budgets, the government is
increasing police personnel by 11 000 per annum over the next three years.
Additionally, the meeting noted, with concern, that social contact crime,
i.e. crimes committed by perpetrators known to victims; such as murder, rape,
assault and assault to do bodily harm illustrate a broad social problem which
requires the resolute attention of the entirety of society.
In this regard, religious leaders committed to discuss ways to address the
challenge of fighting crime working with our safety and security forces. The
religious leaders will convene a workshop as soon as possible to examine
detailed and practical ways in which they can help mobilise society to fight
against crime in partnership with government agencies.
Enquiries:
Mukoni Ratshitanga
Tel: 012 300 5436
Cell: 082 300 3447
Issued by: The Presidency
19 July 2007
