Chairperson, while there are signs that government is beginning to retreat from its denialist stance with regard to crime and the impact it's having on the citizens of this country, the reality today is that crime is the major factor behind immigration, while equally creating a negative impact on tourism and deterring foreign investment.
With 50 or more citizens murdered here daily, coupled with the increase in violence in relation to crimes, the focus must be on how it is that the Ministry of Safety and Security spends its considerable budget, yet fails absolutely to fulfil its mandate.
The Saps has failed to produce anything new in relation to fighting crime and corruption in this country and with 529 police members suspended for corruption this past year, the calibre of our police and the quality of their training must be questioned and one must also question how it is the Minister intends to supply training to the thousands of new recruits he intends to pull in before 2010. Also to be considered is the seemingly bottomless pit down which Saps pours millions - that being the implementation of the Firearms Act - with citizens waiting for years for a licence or being refused outright.
Visible policing isn't visible, despite the directive from the President. Station after station claims that it has a shortage of equipment. Bulletproof vests for women, for example, are always on order. The forensic laboratories are not functional in any sense of the word with, for example, eight out of ten motorists caught for drunk driving in Buffalo City, never having to go to court, because the blood test results just don't come back in time. The Ministry states that there is a backlog of 6 086 samples in our laboratories and today claims are emerging that these figures are grossly understated.
Finally, with the political appointment of the shady National Commissioner, coupled with the seemingly endless Scorpions investigation of him and the Minister's regular absences from the country, the management structures are weak from the top down. Voting for the Budget Vote would suggest that the DA supports the Ministry's intention to spend more on much of the same, though there are no indications that it would do otherwise. Therefore, of course, we vote against the budget.