Premier’s anti-crime plan more tired rhetoric from an ANC fast running out of options

3 September 2023

A so-called multi-pronged anti-crime plan, launched by KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube, is little more than tired and empty rhetoric from an ANC that is fast running out of options.

The scheme, announced amid much fanfare last week, includes a multi-million Rand cash injection along with CCTV’s and drones to monitor criminals across the province. The presentation of the plan comes just days after the launch of the DA’s anti-crime campaign in KZN as a result of government’s inaction to date.

This ANC-run government is good at talking about crime but dismal when it comes to doing anything about it.

Six months ago, in her State of the Province Address (SOPA), the Premier made numerous commitments around fighting crime in our province. Since then, two sets of crime statistics have been released. There is no change and the people of our province continue to live in fear.

Even KZN’s Department of Community Safety and Liaison – under MEC Sipho Hlomuka - has no idea how the Premier’s plans will be implemented and is unable to answer critical questions raised by its portfolio committee members.

Nor does the department have any idea where or how the R10 million from each government department – as promised by the Premier in her SOPA – will be spent.

The re-allocation of funding is pure electioneering on the part of the Premier. It is unlikely that departments will be able to comply given that most are already struggling financially. We have submitted a series of parliamentary questions to government departments on the matter.

Further plans by the Premier to install new CCTV cameras around the province are also no more than a pipe-dream. Who will monitor them? Who will respond to incidents of crime when SAPS are already so under-resourced? And how long will victims of crime have to wait for help?

In Ethekwini there are already 500 CCTV cameras yet only nine are currently working The DA has raised this issue in council and within the legislature, yet there is no feedback on when this will be resolved.

The utilisation of panic buttons by citizens – another half-baked scheme from the Premier’s SOPA – also lacks the required consideration as to how it will be implemented.

Private security companies – dubbed as evil - during the July 2021 unrest in the province – also form part of the Premier’s plan. This is a drastic turnaround given that Police Minister Bheki Cele wanted to shut them down just two years ago.

While Community Policing Forums (CPF’s) appear to have been brought in from the cold it is too little too late after years of being denied government support, particularly in urban areas where crime is rife.

The Premier’s comments on political killings also demand answers, the first of which is why the Moerane Commission recommendations into this scourge have not been acted on despite being released five years ago. This while so many lives has been lost in the interim.

The Premier and her Taliban faction ANC government may have a plan on paper but the proof will be in the implementation.

The time for empty rhetoric, dialogues, meet greet and eats and imbizos is over. We already know the horrific extent of the problem. It now demands action on the ground.

The DA will continue its campaign against crime with a roundtable with political leaders in the province scheduled to take place in September. KZN’s people can no longer be expected to live in a province where criminals are taking over.

Issued by Francois Rodgers, Leader of the DA in the KZN Legislature, 3 September 2023