SONA2019: Ramaphosa and ANC have no idea how to fight crime
8 February 2019
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) once again glossed over the severity of crime and violence in South Africa.
Ramaphosa’s State of No Action is indeed in full swing. Instead of addressing the ANC government’s chronic failure to address crime and violence in the country and presenting the nation with a concrete plan to make our streets and homes safer - Ramaphosa put the onus on communities to combat crime.
While the Democratic Alliance believes in a multi-stakeholder approach to combatting crime, ultimately the responsibility still lies with the South African Police Services (SAPS).
Ramaphosa’s SONA was symbolic of a governing party that is completely estranged from the lived reality of its citizens. SAPS remain under-resourced and under-capacitated. This has resulted in the national ratio of police officers to population increasing from 1:369 in 2016/17 to 1:375 in 2017/18. The ideal ratio should be 1:220.