Chairperson, in the few years after and prior to the establishment of our new democracy, South Africa has experienced a tremendous upsurge in crime. Numerical factors based on historical, political, economical, social and physical causes can be used to explain this phenomenon. The intolerably high rate of violent crime and white- collar crime often seem to threaten our democratic and constitutional achievements.
At the same time that the country seemed plunged into an abyss of crime, South Africa developed one of the most liberal and progressive bills of rights in the world. The Constitutional Court gave numerous rulings in matters concerning criminal justice. The death penalty was abolished, corporal punishment declared unconstitutional and the rights of the accused in criminal procedural matters were extended. This was an indication of a commitment to human rights.
Violence and crime are usually results of inequality and poverty, and they certainly breed fastest in a society characterised by extremes of inequality and social exclusion. Ultimately, only measures that protect communities from the deprivation of joblessness, injustice and insecurity will also make them safer from crime.
The role of the civilian secretariat, inter alia, is to promote democracy, accountability and transparency in the service and to research any policing matters in regard to the Police Act.
It is common knowledge that the sociopolitical transformation and tremendous change this country has undergone and is still undergoing change since the election of 27 April 1994, together with the prevailing level of crime, necessitated a new vision and fundamental change to policing in South Africa. When the South African society conceived democracy during the negotiation process, a vigorous revolution took place within the SA Police Force. The South African Police adopted a new ``surname'', namely ``Service''. This precipitated a fundamental transformation within the SAP. A new philosophy came into being, that of community policing.
Regarding the redistribution of resources, the racial bias in public resource allocation is still a matter of grave concern to us. The delay in the building of police stations in terms of the RDP programme is also a matter of grave concern to the province, as it is affecting the effective delivery of social justice. Resources such as community service centres, or ``police stations'', are still far away from where they are needed most, where the high rates of crime are experienced on a daily basis.
Transformation in the SAPS cannot be seen as separate from the entire process of transformation of the Public Service. It should be a people- driven process and is not concerned with police management only.
Demilitarisation, deracialisation and depoliticisation in the SAPS should be treated as a matter of urgency, with emphasis on the transformation of the service into an efficient, effective and representative service which upholds and protects the fundamental rights of the people.
With regard to municipal policing, section 206(7) specifically prescribes that national legislation must provide a framework for the establishment, functions and control of municipal police services.
The National Crime Prevention Strategy and the White Paper identifies socioeconomic and environmental factors, especially in poor communities, as factors that contribute to crime. Both documents stress that economic growth and social development must ensure that the causes of and opportunities for some categories of crimes are limited.
Another focus area is to develop a social crime prevention framework for the areas which will identify interventions and focus on short-term, medium- term and long-term intervention strategies, because the seriousness of the continued attacks on rural communities, especially farming communities, in South Africa is calling for intervention.
In conclusion, I can articulate with pride that various attempts are made by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development and the Minister of Safety and Security to restore the legitimacy of the criminal justice system. I have good reason to believe that we may eventually succeed in bringing down the high levels of crime. We must carry on the fight against crime. I can quote what a famous person, Winston Churchill, said during World War II, one of Britain's darkest hours:
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender.
We should remember that the future belongs to those who believe in it and who are working for success. [Applause.]
Mr B M RADEBE (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, I am not surprised at this. Even in my province, every time I stand up to speak there is something happening in the room, so I am used to it. [Laughter.] My MEC is also laughing because he knows that something will always happen when I rise to speak in KwaZulu-Natal. Chairperson, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak in this House. In other provinces the issue of security is priority number one, but in our province, KwaZulu-Natal, it is number one plus the stars, because KwaZulu-Natal is one of the most powerful provinces in the country. Whatever we do in KwaZulu-Natal, we make sure that we do it thoroughly. [Laughter.] So if we are engaged in a war, we fight, but if we are engaged in a peace process, we negotiate peace.
I am saying this because the Minister of Safety and Security referred to some areas in KwaZulu-Natal, Nongoma in particular. We have been praying that one day peace will come to KwaZulu-Natal. As the two major parties in KwaZulu-Natal, the IFP and ANC, we have been working on the peace process. Then there is this issue of demarcation which also caused tension in KwaZulu-Natal, but our leadership met and discussed it. Now there is the problem of Nongoma, and I think the Minister of Safety and Security must take extraordinary measures to deal with it.
As one of the co-chairpersons of the provincial peace committee in KwaZulu- Natal, I just want to give members a brief history of that province. We had a conflict in my township, Mpumalanga - not the Mpumalanga of Bab' uMabona [Mr Mabona] - the real Mpumalanga. [Interjections.] On 27 November 1989, from 3:00 to 3:15, 68 people were killed in 15 minutes. I am trying to emphasise the point that it is crucial that the national Minister does everything in his power to make sure that the area of Nongoma is contained.
Secondly, while we were surprised by the gunning down of the mayor of Nongoma, tensions started to rise. So in KwaZulu-Natal we are not just talking about criminals, we are talking about political criminals, and a process in which IFP cadres are used to destroy and attack other parties, and in which ANC cadres are used to attack other parties. So most of what is happening in KwaZulu-Natal is more criminal in nature than political.
Furthermore, we believe that unless we deal with the political violence, particularly in our province, there will be no peace in this country. When the conflict started in KwaZulu-Natal it involved the IFP and the ANC. Full stop. We fought for four and a half years in my township and we lost more than 3 000 lives. Then after the former premier of the province, together with the former leader of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, now the Deputy President of this country, told the structures of the ANC and the IFP that there was somebody perpetrating that violence, the violence shifted to Gauteng.
In KwaZulu-Natal the conflict was between the IFP and the ANC. Full stop. In Gauteng it involved Zulus and Xhosas, and not so much the IFP and the ANC. When the leadership of Gauteng stood between the IFP and ANC and said that there was a third force element involved, the violence shifted to the mines. [Time expired.]
Mr M R MZOBE (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, the province of KwaZulu-Natal forms an integral part of the Republic of South Africa. Fighting crime is becoming more complex and more challenging. Criminals operate with very little regard for national boundaries. As organised crime becomes increasingly globalised, foreign criminal groups are extending their operations, and South Africa is no exception to this tragedy. For these reasons, the SA Police Service is faced with new challenges, with the international crime arena becoming increasingly sophisticated and technologically advanced.
In order to fight criminality from a position of strength, we need to develop our human resources in terms of our ability to meet the challenges of constantly changing criminal strategies.
It must not only be acknowledged, but also fully accepted that police officers in South Africa have a greater chance of being victimised by violence than society itself. It will be recalled that during the liberation struggle the apartheid regime did not use the then SA Police for law enforcement purposes only, but also used them to achieve and accomplish their hidden agenda which morally, socially, politically and otherwise affected the oppressed black masses of South Africa who were engaged in the process of freeing South Africa.
It would be recalled, again, that subsequent to the old order's ulterior motives, the police were declared, considered and viewed by the people of South Africa as the ardent enemy of humanity and democracy. This culminated in the most unprecedented animosity between the police and the citizens of South Africa. The end result was that the police were systematically targeted for assassination. It is therefore my strongest contention that the police cannot work effectively and efficiently without the co-operation and assistance of the community on the ground. The police must be supported and assisted so that they can achieve high levels of delivery to the public.
It looks as though some of us have lost sight of the commitment and huge sacrifices being made by thousands of policemen and policewomen. We need to appreciate and encourage the efforts of the police officers who go beyond the call of duty to ensure the safety of their fellow citizens.
To combat further deterioration in human ethics, the Government is hereby requested to collect all the unlicensed firearms that are currently circulating in our communities. I am very heartened by the fact that the sister Ministries, with their Ministers, are engaged in combating crime. [Time expired.] [Applause.]