Chairperson, hon Minister of State Security, other hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, members of the intelligence services, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, in view of the huge outcry by the people on the ground about criminality in our land, I rise to exhort the Department of State Security to double its efforts to change the negative connotation, which describes South Africa as the crime capital of the world.
In particular, we are concerned about the flaring up of atrocious crimes, which are unprecedented in our country. One would have expected such crimes to have been prevalent during the apartheid regime when we were oppressed. Yet they have become more common now in the postapartheid era, when we are living in a land of freedom and democracy.
I'm referring here to crimes such as cash-in-transit heists, car hijackings and sexual abuse of infants, young girls and elderly women. We definitely need our intelligence agencies to analyse these developments and identify the origins of such devious and weird behaviour so that we treat the causes and not the symptoms.
Also very disconcerting is the widespread drug trafficking that has become such a menace to the lives of our youth in particular. A country which cannot protect its youth has already compromised its future. What is more disturbing is that addiction to drugs gives birth to further violent crimes, including theft, robbery, rape and murder.
We also need our intelligence services working closely with the Department of Home Affairs to protect our porous borders and thus minimise cross- border crimes. I'm happy that the Minister has already referred to this and identified some weaknesses in this terrain. The crimes of the present ICT world, especially Internet fraud, also need close attention.
However, in conclusion, we would like to commend our intelligence agencies for ensuring that the recent Fifa Confederations Cup was played, as the hon Minister pointed out, in a crime-free environment. This is an excellent advertisement for our country and it will go a long way towards motivating even the most sceptical overseas soccer lovers, to flock to South Africa for the Fifa World Cup tournament next year. Thank you.