Chairperson, today violent crime is the cancer that erodes the fabric of our nation. We live in a country where criminals rob us of our precious lives and property. On a daily basis law-abiding citizens of this country are being exposed to criminals who have committed a string of offences previously and continue to commit crimes with impunity. Car hijackings have become a regular occurrence and some drivers are even murdered during these attacks.
The IFP believes that the SAPS unit responsible for car hijacking should not only trace and arrest the car hijackers, but should also concentrate on chop shops and panel beaters who buy these hijacked cars, strip them and sell their parts or are using them for parts when repairing damaged vehicles. The pre-eminent responsibility of any government is to ensure safety and security of the citizens, without which none of the other policy goals have much significance.
One could, therefore, argue with conviction that the creation of a law- abiding country must be this administration's most important priority. Much is required to turn around the crises of crime. The IFP believes, however, that government could start by focussing the attention on scrap metal dealers ... [Time expired.]