and Liaison at the Nedbank Corporate Crime Event, Port Elizabeth
9 May 2007
It is indeed a great honour for me to get this opportunity to share
experiences on issues of safety and security in the Eastern Cape with the
business community, which remains a critical partner in our quest to have a
crime-free province. The scourge of crime continues to bedevil our young
democracy. Although progress has been made in gradually reducing levels of most
categories of serious crime, crime continues to impact severely on the quality
of life of our people. This is a threat that we must collectively address as it
frustrates our democratic and constitutional values because it distorts the
meaning of freedom when communities are subjected to live in constant fear.
As we prepare for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, crime has become one of the
topical debates and the common questions are:
* Whether crime is increasing or not?
* Is government in control in terms of combating crime?
The Institute of Security Studies addressed these perceptions by providing a
succinct analysis maintaining that crime in South Africa was on the decrease in
statistics terms, but still eight times higher than the international
average.
The latest South African Police Service (SAPS) annual report showed that the
levels of crime in the Eastern Cape, particularly contact crimes depict a 6,3%
decrease in comparison with the same period in the preceding year. Over the
last three years there has been a steadily decreasing trend. If the current
trend persists up to 2010, one can probably foresee a decreasing trend of
between 12% and 18% which will be conducive for stabilising high incidents of
contact crimes. There has been decreases varying from 4%-16% in crimes such as
murder, common robbery, rape and assault.
Our response to this challenge must be based on a clear understanding of the
causes of crime and the various forms that it takes across society. This
response should be well-considered, effectively coordinated and comprehensive.
It also needs to be sustainable and its progress measurable. Through effective
integrated law enforcement operations, great achievements have been made in
this province, which resulted in decreasing crime general.
Despite these achievements, there is another teething challenge of "white
collar" crime, which continues to undermine our efforts and has a potential of
eroding investor confidence. This is another area where we need to work
together as government and the private sector in order to make the envisaged
impact. Our crime pattern analysis shows that white collar crime continues to
haunt our province, especially in areas such as Port Elizabeth, East London and
Mthatha.
The latest report shows that there have been 2 492 reported cases with a
monetary value of R269 million which involved 416 South Africans and 26
foreigners. These include cases such as internet fraud, counterfeit credit
cards, stolen credit cards, debit and petrol cards, stolen cheques, cloned
cheques, black dollar scams, theft, forgery and uttering, bank related crimes,
deposit scam and violation of the Corruption Act, Usury Act, Merchandise Mark
Act and Income Tax Act. So far there have been 219 convictions.
Furthermore, there are 617 reported cases against state and semi-state
organisations with a monetary value of R1 billion. I strongly believe that a
multi-agency collaboration is needed in order to address this challenge. The
role of the private sector, especially banks is highly required in order to
make visible and decisive interventions. I would like to commend the initiative
made by Nedbank to convene this session, which seeks to find a solution that
would be embraced by all role players. This good initiative should be emulated
by all other private sector institutions in order for us to collectively deal
with this challenge. I have already met with the private security industry
within the Nelson Mandela Bay and the company owners are prepared to work
together with the police on these matters.
We are still battling in terms of resource mobilisation when we embark on
crime awareness programmes and the business community stands to gain out of
these initiatives, but unfortunately we have not received full cooperation.
Therefore I would like to appeal to all of you to start considering investment
in social crime prevention programmes in order to pave way for a crime-free
environment.
The Department of Safety and Liaison is currently in a process of putting
all its efforts and resources to make sure that Eastern Cape is a peaceful
province as part of our "Battle Plan against Crime". Big business, sport
bodies, institutions of higher learning, churches, political organisations,
youth and women's organisations together with government departments must form
a united front and act together in solidarity against crime and insecurity. It
is through joint initiatives that we can be able to build a society of present
and future generations that remain committed to strong values, stoical
discipline, high moral stamina, humanity and integrity.
Guided by our Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy (PCPS), we will continue
to implement an "extensive mass mobilisation" programme together with our law
enforcement agencies and social partners with the aim of:
* fighting corruption
* reducing contact crimes
* increasing visibility of SAPS through operations
* capacitating and training of Community Policing Forum (CPFs) so that they are
equipped to carry out their mandate and be engaged in sustainable crime
prevention programmes targeting youth and women.
In an attempt to pave the way for a crime free 2010 FIFA World Cup, the
Department of Safety and Liaison will engage the Department of Labour and the
relevant Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) to train community
patrol volunteers. In consultation with CPFs, municipalities identified for
2010 FIFA World Cup and the Eastern Cape Youth Commission, the Department will
mobilise the youth to participate in this initiative. We will further need
support from the business community. In an effort to concretise our strategies,
the department will host a Safety and Security Summit for 2010 in September
2007 here, because we believe that this international football showpiece can
only succeed if we collectively embark on an offensive against all forms of
crime.
As part of consolidation of these efforts against crime, I would like to
invite your companies to join hands with the Department of Safety and Liaison.
On 16 June 2007, the department will host a Jazz Festival against Crime here in
Port Elizabeth in an effort to mobilise our people in a massive way against
crime. We are expecting nationally acclaimed and local jazz artists to be part
of this event. Your contribution will go a long way in making our fight against
crime a success.
In conclusion, I would like to once more express my sincere gratitude for
inviting me to this august occasion. It is when we work together as government
and the private sector that we can be able to combat crime in our society.
Thank you.
Issued by: Department of Safety and Liaison, Eastern Cape Provincial
Government
9 May 2007
