Farms are not special areas - Mthethwa
2013-01-31 10:57
Johannesburg - Farms are not special and do not deserve to have more police
focus than any other area in the country, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said
on Thursday.
"What I have refused to accede to is [the idea] that farms are special
areas in our society," he said at a New Age breakfast briefing in
Johannesburg.
"No, they are not. They are part and parcel of the rural safety
plan."
He said the plan dealt with crime and violence in the "totality"
of rural areas.
"We are talking about the villages... and general crime in the rural
areas. Amongst those we also have farms."
Mthethwa said certain agricultural groups had been making farm murders
political.
"We have said to those who want to do nasty politicking on this matter
that they must take a broader view... and ensure that we talk about rural
safety in totality."
'Bordering on collusion'
On 15 January, lobby group AfriForum said Mthethwa's silence on farm attacks
bordered on collusion.
"The minister's silence on the scourge of farm attacks is a disgrace,"
AfriForum deputy CEO Ernst Roets said in a statement.
"If the minister is serious about the protection of South Africans, he
would have declared farm attacks a priority crime years ago," he said.
Roets was reacting to reports of an elderly couple being found dead on a
farm near Parys, in the Free State.
Mthethwa also discussed the need for greater oversight for the police.
"By their nature in society, police have more powers. They have powers
to stop anybody and search anybody," he said.
"If those powers are unchecked, the tendency would be that people may
abuse such powers."
It was important oversight bodies were put in place to police the police.
He said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate served this
function.
- SAPA
