DA anti-crime campaign to address total onslaught of KZN’s people

23 August 2023

The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has today launched an anti-crime campaign aimed at finding ways to address the rampant criminality overwhelming our province.

KZN’s recently released crime statistics for April to June 2023 revealed a horrifying average of 17 people murdered and 21 people raped daily. This while Inanda and Umlazi are South Africa’s murder and rape capitals.

Recently the DA in KZN approached Community Safety and Liaison MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, to interrogate provincial plans to overcome crime. It is clear there is no plan. This is hardly surprising when the MEC has no respect for the law himself and is yet to account for allegedly using a state vehicle and writing if off.

Meanwhile, SAPS and Metro Police’s lacklustre performance has left community-based initiatives including CPFs at the forefront in trying to protect our citizens.

Not only are crime, extortion, murder, rape, gender-based violence, hijackings, truck arson and political assassinations posing a threat to KZN’s people, they are robbing our province of valuable and much-needed investment. Businesses, investors and citizens are thinking twice about living and working in KZN.

Then there is the issue of police themselves being involved in crime. According to a senior member of SAPS in the province, the figure is estimated to be half of all SAPS members in the province.

This ANC government has failed the people of KZN. Even the province’s Department of Public Works has contributed to crime by failing to attend to dilapidated government-owned buildings - many of which have now become places for criminals to hide out.

Police Minister, Bheki Cele, KZN’s Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and other KZN cabinet members have made numerous promises that they have failed to deliver on. These include;

- In her State of the Province Address (SOPA) earlier this year, the Premier committed to ensuring greater safety measures for women and children. To date there is no evidence of this as KZN remains the country’s rape capital

- The Premier also committed KZN government departments to contributing R10million each towards crime fighting initiatives. What are these initiatives and where is the money?

- In 2019, SAPS announced its intention to roll out body cameras for law enforcement officers. Four years later, in May 2023, Minister Cele said that “body-worn cameras are being prioritised”. Where are they?

- Where are the properly-functioning CCTV cameras promised to KZN’s people? Earlier this year it was revealed that only 98 out of almost 500 cameras in eThekwini were operational, giving criminals free reign. Contrast this with the DA-led Western Cape Metropolitan area where law enforcement maintains 853 security cameras

- In 2018 the Moerane Commission tabled recommendations to address political assassinations in KZN. Despite this, political killings have continued unabated, with 18 political murders in the last year

- The so-called Green Book – which outlines KZN government department budgets – reveals issues within the VSSCP, the Department of Community Safety’s volunteer programme. This programme is failing while the department has no clue who is employed or the contribution being made to ensure safety

- Truck burnings and carnage on KZN’s roads has escalated despite promises of tighter law-enforcement and specialized units to address this scourge. This ANC government knows who the instigators are yet they have not arrested them.

- Countless development and construction projects in our province have been brought to their knees by so-called business and construction mafia. What is government doing to stop this? Why does it negotiate with criminals? It could learn from the actions of the DA-led City of Cape Town’s handling of the recent taxi strike.

- During the 2021 riots, SAPS were nowhere to be seen as KZN’s people were forced to protect themselves and their businesses as our province burned. What assurance do they have that, in the face of another uprising, they will be protected?

Our women and children continue to be worst off in a country where their safety is not prioritised. According to the latest crime stats;

- 895 women were murdered in South Africa during the three-month period under review - a 4.7% increase from last year

- 293 children were murdered – a 20.6% increase from last year

- Attempted murder of women rose by 20.2% with 1 417 cases reported countrywide

- There were 354 attempted murder of children cases opened – also a rise of 15.3% and

- 12 872 women and 1 432 children were assaulted with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.

If these statistics do not galvanize government to act, then nothing ever will. In KZN, it is clear that we can no longer wait for this Taliban faction ANC-run government to save our province – and its people - from this never-ending onslaught.

Crime is out of control and has the ability to devastate our province. We must act.

The DA’s Crime Prevention and Social Justice Policy (view here) is a whole-of-society approach. In light of this, the time for broader engagement is now. While the ANC continues to make empty promises, the DA has been busy and has;

- Communicated and engaged with Community Police Forums (CPFs) with a plan to work together to find solutions and address the concerns raised by these valuable organisations. KZN’s Department of Community Safety has failed to ensure effective Community Policing Structures (CPFs) throughout the province, which it is mandated to do. It has not given the necessary resources and support to CFP structures and our communities continue to suffer as a result. Under-resourcing of SAPS has further contributed to the increase in crime. The role of keeping communities safe belongs to SAPS. Yet it is the people of KZN who have been left with no alternative but to shoulder this responsibility themselves. Communities remain unsafe and CPF structures comprising of civilians - who are not geared up or trained to deal with issues of crime - are now risking their lives daily.

- The DA has also been busy engaging with civil society organisations to find common ground and unite in our efforts to bring greater security measures and commitments from government.

- We have furthermore written to parties represented in the KZN Legislature to strategize a way forward to address ongoing political killings. It is vital that all parties find common ground on measures to be taken aimed at stemming this scourge.

The lack of political will that exists within KZN government structures is the reason why we are here today.

It is also the reason why the DA in KZN will now look to formalise a programme that offers support to CPFs and will meet with existing structures soon to discuss the way forward. Our intention is to build a strong pact to ensure that CPFs and SAPS are given the tools to do their jobs and begin to establish the relationship that is critical to success.

The DA is committed to driving a process for change. The people of KZN deserve to live in a province where they are safe and where they can see a future for themselves. The 2024 elections will present them with the opportunity to change the trajectory of our province.

Issued by Francois Rodgers, Leader of the DA in the KZN Legislature, 23 August 2023