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SA crime rate 'shameful'
06/07/2007 08:49  - (SA)  

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'Law enforcement not enough' A party of moaners Lies and statistics Union: 'Recruit more cops' Crime critics 'playing games' DA: 'How is Selebi assessed?' Nqakula won't quit

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Rivaan Roopnarain, News24 User

Off much discussion over the last few days has been the release of the national crime statistics. Some have even renewed the call for the resignation of the Safety and Security Minister. Perhaps we have finally seen the light.

With little surprise, the crime stats make for clear reading and add the finishing touches to the direly disastrous picture of crime in South Africa.

Not that our raging crime problem was ever in any doubt, of course. Despite our leaders who seem to be of the view that crime in this country is "exaggerated".

It is common knowledge that we are a nation up to our eyeballs deep in the thick sludge of crime.

But how did it all get so catastrophic? I presume there are a great many answers to that question, depending on whose answering it.

Someone has to take the heat

The issue of calling for the resignation of the Minster is, I suppose, a welcomed relief that finally the masses of this country are beginning to familiarise themselves with concepts like accountability.

Accountability: always a concept that has been notoriously elusive in South Africa. Our leaders have always played the age-old game of "musical-chairs" when it comes to holding someone responsible for disasters. By that I mean, the blame gets passed around throughout Parliament so many times with so much political jargon and excuses that the public is left with reeling headaches trying to make sense of it all.

Yes, accountability implies that someone has to stand up and take the wrap for those appalling statistics. Someone, somewhere has to; it is unavoidable.

Whether it will be the Minister of Safety and Security or the National Police Commissioner who you think should shoulder the blame, take your pick. For me, it may well be both, along with a whole host of other upper-echelon government officials who on frequent occasions display their grand incompetence.

But really, sometimes it seems like those who govern us are really living in a different planet far from the rest of us in crime-embattled South Africa.

Take the law into our own hands?

Take for example our National Police Commissioner. Speaking about the crime pandemic impacting on the 2010 World Cup, according to his perversely warped view, he has the audacity to say the months when crime are "usually lower" are between June and July, and so it is a relief that the World Cup is to be held during those months.

This man's arrogance, hypocrisy and condescending attitude truly does never cease to amaze. Does he really think that the criminals won't have the time of their damned lives with all those tourists that are expected to flood in during the course of the World Cup? If indeed so, then it seems he really is living in a fairytale land.

Then we have the Minister of Safety and Security who says he will not resign and has asked his critics to ask themselves what "they" are doing about the fight against crime. Just what on earth is he suggesting?

Take the law into our own hands perhaps, then before long we can brace ourselves for a totally lawless society, where the victims and criminals all run rampant chasing one another in unending madness? Tell you what: I don't think we are all that far off.

Let us not forget, this is the same Minister Mr Nqakula who once proudly stated that "they can whine until they are blue in the face," they can be as negative as they like, or, wait for it: "they can simply leave".

To worm his way out of that predicament, Minister Nqakula offered in his defence that the "they" he was referring to was opposition members who were complaining about the spiraling crime problem in the country. Although his comments did seem rather open ended to me when he made them, open ended as if he were referring to anyone who complains. The call for his resignation should have been shouted out from the rooftops then.

Instead of President Mbeki lashing out at Mr Nqakula for making those ludicrous statements, it was little surprise that the whole issue surrounding those callous remarks have all but evaporated into thin air.

Making comparisons doesn't help

In reference to the crime stats, I have heard some people make such utterances like "improvement". In my view, to use words like "improvement" in any context, when statistics tell us that we are drowning in our crime problem, is downright shameful. There is little "improvement" here.

Making comparisons of crime statistics between years is a farce and little more than a childishly ridiculous way of fooling ourselves.

If we are to have any hope of battling this vile and disgusting scourge of crime that we have in South Africa, the time is long overdue for heads to roll, demand accountability and results, and not settling for being patronised with crude comparisons between crime statistics which are dangerously out of control whichever way you look at it.

Forgive my negativity Mr Nqakula and Mr Selebi, but I don't see those horrid crime statistics as an improvement by any means.

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