Hon Speaker, hon President of the Republic, hon Deputy President of the Republic, Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, fellow South Africans, on 6 April 1979, a heroic son of our people, a dedicated member of the ANC and a revolutionary of uMkhonto weSizwe, facing his murder and death at the hands of a racist regime, the apartheid government, said:
My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love them. They must continue the fight. As the ANC is celebrating 100 years, the blood of Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu continues to nourish the tree that still bears the fruit of freedom. His life continues to inspire our forward momentum towards a truly emancipated society at peace with itself. Our commitment to the realisation of the ideals embodied in the Freedom Charter, of peace, security and comfort, enjoins us to become champions in the fight against crime in all its manifestations.
In dealing with the fight against crime, I will focus on three pillars which will seek to contextualise efforts by the ANC-led democratic government in the war against crime. The first pillar is the generators and the nature of crime. In its 49th national conference in December 1994, the ANC, the people's movement and an agent for change noted that: "The major cause of instability in the country remains inequity, poverty and deprivation."
The strategy and tactics of the ANC asserts that the war against crime cannot be separated from the war on want. It further underscores the social aberration that, in the main, crimes against the person, such as murder, assault and rape, etc are normally among acquaintances. Hence, it is suggested that the driving force in such circumstances is greed and the untenable socioeconomic circumstances that prevail in society, such as drugs and alcohol abuse.
The inferences that can be deduced from the current state of violent crime in South Africa, amongst others, are a manifestation and a legacy of the oppressive apartheid dispensation that we are emerging from. That society was characterised by violent and oppressive means of leadership stemming from colonisation, slavery and apartheid tendencies which the United Nations General Assembly had correctly characterised as a crime against humanity. The serial brutalisation of our people embedded itself in the collective national psyche and undermined our ubuntu, accounting for the characteristically violent nature of South African crime. Hon President, identifying unemployment, poverty and inequality as challenges that need our focused solutions will also impact positively on crime reduction.
The second pillar is the comprehensive approach to crime. The hon Lindiwe Mazibuko, the leader of DA, last week issued out a media statement wherein she concluded by saying that the President's speech will do nothing to reassure South Africans that the government has a plan to keep them safe from criminals. [Interjections.] Hon Lindiwe, please listen to this. The recent National Victims of Crime Survey indicates that victims of crime are beginning to see some results in the fight against crime and the improvement in the treatment of victims. [Applause.] What is important about this survey is that approximately 30 000 people were surveyed in a biggest ever South African victim perception survey.
Honestly, we do understand that hon Lindiwe desperately wants to prove that she is performing better than her predecessor, hon Trollip ... [Interjections.] ... hence a very confused and extremely bizarre reshuffle that angers and continues to frustrate many DA Members of Parliament. [Applause.] The deployment of hon Trollip to the portfolio committee that hon Lindiwe served in because hon Trollip had deployed her, the hon Lindiwe, to the portfolio committee is a tit for tat principle and a crystal clear sign of serious political immaturity. [Interjections.]
Regarding the media statement, my advice to the leader is: Listening is a skill, reading is a wise act and knowledge is power. [Applause.] If the hon leader of DA had listened, she would have heard the President saying:
In 2009 we made a commitment to accelerate the fight against crime and corruption. We will, however, not become complacent. We are continuing to implement our programmes of making South Africans feel safe and to be safe. The hon leader would have then obtained and read the 2009 state of the nation address which the President referred to, but she had not. [Laughter.] To remind members, the President had said that the most serious attention will be given to combating organised crime, as well as crimes against women and children. In this regard, significant progress has been made. For example, in 2010 the SAPS identified 50 of the top criminal suspects and 49 of those have been arrested. [Applause.]
Of particular note should be the work done in fighting drugs and proliferation thereof. A number of significant successes are being made by the SAPS members working with other international law enforcement, such as interception, busting of huge amounts of drugs and arresting members of international drug trafficking organisations.
To deal with crimes against women and children, the Minister of Police re- established family violence, child protection and sexual offences units. Furthermore, 900 victim support centres and 27 Thuthuzela centres have been established countrywide. However, the training of police, prosecutors and even magistrates on Domestic Violence Act, Child Justice Act, etc, is still necessary.
The President further said that we have to increase the number of prosecutors, Legal Aid Board personnel and police detectives. In response, the Department of Justice developed and introduced to Parliament a number of Bills, which you must be aware of, that seek to transform the judiciary and legal profession with the view of accessing justice. Yet, the challenges we still need to grapple with were captured well by the former President Mandela in 1994 when he stated that: "It is important that the legal system itself be made affordable, accessible and efficient." [Interjections.]
Somlomo, nangakithi kwaChikunga Elukwatini ngiwabonile amahhovisi eBhodi Yosizo Lwezomthetho. Kanti nalapha ngizalwa ngakhona koGcaba nakhona ngiwabonile, asekhona. Phela ngakithi koGcaba nangakithi kwaChikunga lapho ngendele khona amakhaya nje impela kodwa asekhona. [Uhleko.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Speaker, at Elukwatini, where the Chikungas - my in-laws - come from, I have seen Legal Aid Board offices. Even where the Gcabas - my maiden family - come from, I have seen them; they are there. You see, the areas from which the Gcabas and the Chikungas - my in-laws - come from are very rural, but they have these offices.]
Regarding police detectives, the numbers have been increased. The detective training, which was a post-basic training during your time, is now part of the new two-year basic training curriculum for the SAPS. This means that, as we move forward, all the SAPS members, on completion of their basic training, shall have been introduced to detective courses. [Interjections.] However, we all agree that there is still a need to focus more on detective services, forensic services and crime intelligence.
Hon Davidson, you were made to speak on a subject you have no clue about. [Applause.] However, regarding rural safety, a Rural Safety Priority Committee, dealing with rural safety, is functioning at national level, and has representation from all role-players in the rural and farming community, including the SAPS, farm workers' unions, organised agriculture, including AgriSA and other government departments. This was discussed and agreed upon by all interested parties and stakeholders.
The President called on all of us to improve systems in our jails to reduce repeat offending. In this regard, a lot has been done to rehabilitate offenders, but overcrowding continues to undermine our efforts. The use of a new electronic monitoring system will, hopefully, encourage the judiciary to make more frequent use of alternative sentencing options, wherein incarceration is there for serious crimes.
Government has also taken a strategic decision of building capacity of the South African National Defence Force by providing resources in order for it to play an even larger and leading role on the borders, in peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance in Africa and the world.
It is clear that a transformed Home Affairs makes a powerful contribution to the achievements made. In this regard, substantial service delivery improvements, amongst which are increased efficiency levels and the management of key processes, especially in the civic environment, including improved turnaround of identity documents and passports, is for all to see. [Interjections.]
President Zuma urged the nation to participate in the fight against crime because law enforcement agencies cannot do it alone. Our participation will ensure a social contract against crime. Lack of co-operation between communities and law enforcement agencies will defeat the objectives of partnership in the fight against crime.
Hon Speaker, hon Lindiwe Mazibuko failed to appreciate the fact that crime statistics are revealing a steady decline, particularly for serious crimes, including business robbery, house robbery, car hijackings and even murder. [Interjections.] In fact, for the first time in our history, in 2009-10 the murder figure fell below 17 000 from 26 877 in 1995-96 ... [Interjections.] ... because crime statistics were never kept before that. The government that was there was itself a crime. [Applause.] And in 2010-11 murder further decreased to 15 940.
So, yes, Mr President, we will not be complacent. These achievements and successes are no longer our potentials because our potential is that which we can do, but have not yet done. We will continue to implement our programmes with vigour. Crime is still a serious problem that affects all South Africans, hence it is one of the top five priorities for the ANC-led democratic government. Working together we will do more.
The third pillar is the impact of crime fighting. Without any doubt, it is a fact that, if the criminal justice system functions optimally and society is effectively mobilised, then life for criminals would be made difficult to live within our midst. Our struggle has taught us that. It is true that we want to be safe and we want to feel safe. We believe that people who feel safe will be more productive.
We are spending a lot of money on fighting crime. We harbour no doubt that reduction of crime will allow us to channel more resources to our developmental agenda. Children who will grow up in an environment that has neither violence nor violent crime will most likely not commit crime or violent acts. Research has proved that. The ANC has indicated that it strives for a better life for all citizens where there is peace and friendship.
Hon members, as I conclude, our titanic struggle against the most vicious regime, the apartheid, taught us never to surrender even in the face of mammoth adversity. Through our own actions, we taught ourselves to act in unity to determine our own destiny. In honour of our heroes and heroines like Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, we will never stop believing and fighting for safe communities. We will remain unshaken in our commitments to call on all responsible citizens to become soldiers in the war against crime. Victory is certain. Amandla awethu! [Power is ours!] I thank you. [Applause.]