Premier
Fellow members of the Provincial Cabinet
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Leaders of our Communities
Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to present the budget of R173 724 million for the Department of Community Safety for the 2005/06 financial year.
It is therefore important for us to reflect here today what we have achieved but more importantly what lies ahead for us as government and the people of the Western Cape in the fight against crime.
Let me start off from the outset by saying that we have indeed taken great strides with all our communities in the fight against crime.
We present this budget to this house today against the backdrop of the conclusion of the celebrations of ten years of Democracy and Freedom as well as the coming of the fourth Local Government elections reflecting the levels of development and maturity our democracy has evolved into.
As we prepare for the second decade of freedom, there can be no doubt that our clarion call must be sustainability and delivering a Safer Home for All who live in it black and white.
It is also in 2005 that we mark the 50th Anniversary of our great South African document namely, the Freedom Charter.
That document stood the test of time, and has guided our fight for liberation through the darkest days of oppression and continues to guide the policies of government today.
It’s inspirational value continues to inform our outlook of a future South Africa where peace and friendship will reign supreme.
In the words of the late Minister of Safety and Security Steve Tshwete who said “The Freedom Charter is a condition for peace and friendship”.
Speaker, it is important in planning ahead that we also remind this House of the challenges we faced in coming into office, in turning the Department around in building trust and confidence in an institution that had little.
This in particular was relevant to the South African Police Services who for many years post 1994, failed to heed a call for communities to be the central pillar of our fight against crime.
However, in the last three years, we have made communities a vital cog in the chain, in the fight against crime.
We have built a Department in the Provincial Government that has credibility across the length and breadth of our province.
We continue to ensure representativity in both the police and provincial government in advancing the careers of both African and coloured people, and not as our opposition advocates that one race is being advantaged at the cost of the other.
In setting this review of our past we will clearly reflect the challenges of the future.
ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2004
In 2004 Speaker and Honourable members, the Department of Community Safety committed itself to numerous outputs.
It is indeed appropriate that we reflect on some of those achievements so as to account to this House, on what we have achieved in fulfilling the people's contract.
Commitment:
To broaden our complaints mechanisms against poor service at police stations.
Achievement:
A full review on current practises and services rendered at key police stations in the Western Cape was researched by the University of the Western Cape.
Commitment:
To increase our voluntary core of the Bambanani Against Crime volunteers by an additional 2500 and incorporate them into the Expanded Public Works Programme.
Achievement:
This has been achieved in attracting well over 3 000 volunteers to support our police, participating in safety projects in communities, on trains, monitoring shebeens, on farms and in particular in our Safer Festive Season programme 2004/05, in both and urban and rural areas.
They have also been successfully incorporated into the Expanded Public Works programme of National Government.
Commitment:
To increase deployment of volunteers in shebeen-affected areas, as well as on key Metro rail train routes.
Achievement:
To date we have deployed over 500 volunteers on key Metro routes, seven days a week resulting in minimal crime on these platforms.
We have monitored over 4500 shebeens in key outlets in townships across our province, with 692 volunteers in both urban and rural areas.
The establishment of, and training of 330 Farmwatches, as part of the broader rural safety strategy responding to the incremental closing down of the commando units of SAPS.
Commitment:
Training of 400 police officials to be deployed on trains. In 2004 we indicated that our railway police would be trained and deployed to key transit points across our province.
Achievement:
All 400 police officers completed their formal training and is currently completing their field training and will be deployed to trains by June 2005.
Commitment:
The re-allocation of resources to identified stations (POSS) stations in areas most affected by serious violent crime.
Achievements:
The establishment of 5 new police stations in Philippi East, Klein Vlei, Mbkweni, Harare and Lingulethu West in Khayelitsha.
Commitment:
Increase access of SAPS contact point to rural communities.
Achievement:
Contact point service centres were increased to 24 hour services in the communities of Zoar, Gouda, Slangrivier and Haarlem.
Commitment:
Establishment of Family Child Centres (FCC’s) to targeted police stations.
Achievement:
The establishment of 13 family violence and sexual offences units serving communities where crimes against women and children are prevalent.
Commitment:
The interagency co-operation of the High Flyers team to fight organised crime. The Western Cape government and relevant agencies in the Criminal Justice system are serious in its intentions to combat organised crime and criminal gang activity.
Achievement:
We arrested at least 10 high flyers and successfully convicted Mr. Rashied Staggie. This once again for the theft of arms at the Faure Arms base was as a result of a joint investigation by SAPS, the DPP and the Scorpions. Staggie was sentenced to an effective 13 years imprisonment.
Commitment:
Mr. Speaker we dealt with not only the so- called high flyers but also membership of street gangs. To this end we prioritised the implementation and application of provisions contained in Chapter 4 of the Prevention of Organised Crime ACT, Act 121 of 1998 (POCA) criminalising gang activity and membership.
Achievement:
There are currently 24 cases against 33 members of most of the gangs pending in court. We have also already successfully prosecuted and convicted 4 gang members in terms of this Act, namely Shahied Julies and Mark Spruit of the Corner Boys, Gregory Vlotman and Mustaf Booisen, leaders of the Mongrels. The application of this legislation was a first in this country.
Speaker, last year I warned that gangsters should stop or be stopped and I want to appeal to our mothers and fathers again this year that they must ensure that there children don’t join gangs and those who are members, to leave the gangs and gang activities now, or they too will suffer the same consequences as Shahied Julies and Gregory Vlotman as we implement the laws more vigorously.
Achievement:
In the past year we have had numerous successes in respect of seizure of assets by the Asset Forferture Unit which includes the entire estate of Kiyaam Rinquest a major drug dealer and abalone smuggler, worth more than a million rand.
We have also presently restrained all the assets of 15 of the accused in the Quinton Marinus “Mr.Big” case.
Achievement:
The South African Polices Services in their continuous onslaught against criminals in our communities has been able to achieve the following during operations conducted:
- The confiscation of 1 899 140 mandrax with a street value of R 66 469 900 million rands.
- The confiscation of 3405 grams of cocaine with a street value of R 681 000 rands.
- The confiscation of 4160 tik parcels with a street value of R 1 012 000 million rands.
- The seizure of 177 663 731 grams of dagga with a street value of R 177 663 731 million rands.
- The confiscation of 278719 abalone with a street value of R 55 743 800 million rands.
- In total our police seized drugs to the street value of R 249 526 806 million rands.
Furthermore, I want to thank members of the public who supported government fire-arms amnesty process in the Western Cape. Preliminary results indicate huge success in the handing over of fire-arms.
In relation to our prosecutorial services, the following amongst others was achieved:
The Directorate of Special Operations also known as the Scorpions, made tremendous strides in combating organised crime and corruption.
Recently the unit prosecuted the Directors of GEMS for corrupting SAMWU officials and inducing them to defer workers to GEMS where they were paid high interest rates on loans taken from the company.
A total of R60 million was part of the confiscation order imposed by the Cape High court to compensate workers for monies lost.
In co-operation with the South African Polices Services, the Scorpions were able to successfully convict Phadiel Orrie for the murder of two state witnesses in Gouda involved in urban terror cases.
Orrie was convicted on both counts of murder and was sentenced to two life sentences, hence a victory to the war on urban terror.
In a landmark case regarding Hout Bay Fishing Company, the Scorpions have been successful with the assistance of the United States authority, in arresting Arnold Bengis from Hout Bay Fishing for the contravention of the US Lacy Act for smuggling rock lobster into the US.
Bengis was convicted to 12 months imprisonment and was ordered by the court to pay 5.6 million dollars in terms of the court confiscation.
The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) together with SAPS set joint targets to seize assets in 75 new cases to the monetary value of R7.5 million. These targets were achieved through the seizure of assets in 67 cases with the monetary value of R13 million.
Speaker, the challenges in all of these achievements, is that these cannot be seen as once-off activities.
Our strategy to sustain these interventions as the Criminal Justice cluster in the Western Cape is a matter that we continue to engage with.
There is no doubt that our successes in all these areas, builds tremendous confidence within our communities in witnessing that we are able to turn the tide against crime.
However, it is clear that in our fight against organised crime, in particular those who regard themselves as the untouchables in our society, the levels of sophistication and complexity of their criminal network, will require of us to match both skill and resources in bringing those individuals and their syndicates before courts. In this respect, the training of our investigators and prosecutors in the area of financial investigations must become a priority in the budget of 2005/6.
Speaker in respect of the overall performance of the Department for the 2004/5 financial year, allow me to highlight a few significant achievements.
We have once again managed a successful Safer Festive season campaign for the second year running, reflecting a further 9 % decrease in crime over the festive period of 2004/5.
To a large extent, we owe this success to the thousands of volunteers in our communities who have shouldered our police in reducing crime.
Our continuous interaction with communities reaffirms that the Western Cape is indeed a Safer Home for All since the African National Congress assumed power.
We are also confident of the fact that the Easter Targets set by our Premier in December 2004, that contact crime will be reduced, has been achieved, and when the National Minister releases his statistics in August 2005, a decrease in crime will indeed be reported, hence confirming our belief that crime is on the decline.
In relation to road traffic safety, we continue to stabilise motor vehicle accidents and pedestrian fatalities in both the December holidays and the recent Easter weekend period. We are calling to motorists to report poor driving and drunken driving on rural roads.
The increase in law enforcement officers as well as the operationalisation of a 24 hour operation centres has been contributing factors to our continued improvement of road safety in our province.
On the issue of crimes against women and children, we all remember the HOOC campaign (Hands of Our Children- Yours child is my child).
HOOC continues to thrive in our schools across the Province.
In this respect we continue to make inroads in protecting our most vulnerable possessions, our children.
The HOOC project underwent a strategic evaluation process with a view to aligning itself to the Ikapa Elihlumayo strategy viz. building social capital with an emphasis on youth. This process has been incorporated into a corrective strategy, which aims to build the levels of social capital in communities and schools.
The Premier has recently approved the deployment of volunteers to enhance school safety. We believe that with the deployment of volunteers, together with the Department’s Learner Support Officers, an integral part of our youth support programmes, in conjunction with the Department of Education’s Safer Schools programme, schools will indeed become safer.
The Bambanani Volunteer programme continues to gain tremendous support and credibility amongst our communities.
The thousands of people, both young and old, who proudly displayed their T- Shirts by declaring themselves that they are “ community development workers against crime”, will continue to be our number one priority, despite the moaning and the groaning by the chief apologist of the DA Ms Helen Zille.
LOOKING AHEAD IN 2005 AND BEYOND
In planning for the coming financial year, allow me to briefly sketch some of our plans for both the Department as well as the Criminal Justice system in our province.
It will be grounded in building the levels of social capital of communities, through viz. social relations, social networks, social cohesion, social values, norms and social institutions. Which coupled with the Bambanani strategy reduces levels of serious violent crime and strengthens service delivery within communities.
The key strategic operational thrusts of the Department will be:
- The strengthening of the secretariat and building a culture of human rights, through establishing an investigative unit within the call centre for alleged policing transgressions;
- the strengthening of effective and sustainable partnerships through the coordination, enhancement and training of safety and security structures viz. Community Watches and Community Police Forums.
- In line with national policy directives, the Department will strengthen institutional structures and intergovernmental relations with a focus on crime prevention and safety at local government level.
- The department will continue to strengthen the ideal of the freedom charter that the people shall govern, through various platforms such as:
- Security on schools has indeed raised numerous concerns for both the Department of Education and us.
- The emergence of TIK and other substance abuse drugs have indeed created enormous constraints in our schools and amongst our youth.
We believe the call centre, which will be administered in all three languages, supports the principles of Batho Pele by creating an accessible environment for a public interface with government.
The curriculum of both the Chrysalis Academy and the Community Safety Academy will be re-orientated towards building sustainable human capital of our community structures, which in turn builds levels of social capital within youth structures and communities at large.
Training of an additional 2000 Community Watch volunteers in civilian security with the aim of further deployment in our communities, on trains, and on farms with an overall intension of incorporation into the Expanded Public Works Programme in the Province.
This will be implemented with the roll out of Community Safety Forums in key regions of our province to strike a greater co-operative relationship with local authorities, communities and Provincial Government in developing integrated safety and security plans, integrating municipal and provincial traffic planning and supporting disaster management emergencies viz. township floods and fires.
The Department will continue to provide funding for social crime prevention projects, research, training, institutional and administrative support to Community Police Forums and community based organisations to the tune of R5 million for the development of localised crime prevention institutions and projects.
Special focus in this regard will be given to Presidential nodal areas such as Beaufort West, Mitchell’s Plain and Khayelitsha.
Through the continuous and structured interface between government and communities via the Bambanani imbizo’s, facilitating community input into policing policies and plans.
Through the mobilisation of communities in various community based safety and security structures such as Community Police Forums, Community Safety Forums, Community Watches, Victim Empowerment Committees, Youth Clubs and Parent and Peer support groups to mention but a few.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to develop local schools protection programme between parents and local law enforcement agencies (civilian and state).
To this end, the Premier has just approved the deployment of Bambanani volunteers on schools that have become flashpoints of violence.
We are in the process of developing and intergovernmental policy and strategy to be implemented with the following aims:
- assist with access to professional treatment and counselling;
- train our Learner Support Officers and Youth Clubs to support, mentor and counsel affected youth;
- research the drug problem in the Western Cape in relation to international organised crime; and
- continue to launch awareness campaigns both communication and educational,
It is our objective to reduce road fatalities by 5% year on year.
We have recently completed and integrated Motor Vehicle Accident strategy, which will be implemented and aims to enhance inter-agency and intergovernmental cooperation between the National, Provincial and Local Government traffic law enforcement.
The High Flyers project has been a crucial element of Provincial Government’s attempts to stem organised crime and gang activity in our province and we will continue to strengthen this programme.
A key element of a successful strategy as aforementioned is the ability to bring successful cases to court.
A clear area of weakness in this regard, is the capacity of our agencies; to this end the Department of Community Safety will contribute R1 million to the training and capacity building of prosecutors and investigators, in particular in the field of specialised financial investigations.
In line with meeting all of these strategic objectives and extending the work of the Department to all communities, the Department has recently advertised key positions in a bid to hasten our delivery efforts and secondly build a more representative and transformative government in the Western Cape.
In line with our government’s overall commitment to building co operative arrangements in the work we do, a key driving force in our implementation for this year, will be the consolidation of the social contracts we have established between our government, communities and local authorities.
But equally important Mr Speaker is a need to deal with social inequalities and the social discrepancies in our communities, be it housing, health, water, electricity land etc.
It is therefore important as a Department, that we perform and enabling role to ensure our sister Departments are able to perform their functions in our communities.
There is no doubt that the social realities impact on our communities on the levels of crime we are experiencing in the province.
In building the Home for All and in our instance a Safer Home for All, will require the social contract we have alluded to earlier.
It is important within this framework Mr Speaker that we too respond to the debate called by our Premier with regard to racism and the building of non-racialism.
In our instance the Bambanani Volunteers epitomises the non-racialism that is required.
It is when we take Community Development Workers from Gugulethu, Mannenberg, Langa, and Bonteheuwel and cement them in a partnership to fight crime, that we will truly rid our society of the demons of racism.
In conclusion Speaker the Premier continues to set our government to task on delivering to the people of the Western Cape.
We believe that it is only through these key measurable outcomes that we will continue to build confidence in the Government of the Western Cape that was so sorely lacking for the first in the initial years of post 1994.
Our contract with people of the Western Cape is based on real delivery. Our commitment to the people of the Western Cape is based on actual delivery.
It is only by ensuring dedication and commitment that we in the Department of Community Safety can be so proud.
To this end I want to extend my sincere thanks to the Head of Department of Community Safety Mr Melvyn Joshua, to Provincial Commissioner Mzwandile Petros and the thousands of police men and women who protect us.
To Adv. Rodney De Kock and the prosecutors who keep our courts operational and working. To Adv. Adrian Mopp from the Scorpions, to Adv. Hermione Cronje from the Asset Forfeiture Unit. To Mr. Donovan Nel from the National Intelligence Agency.
To Hishaam Mohmed from the Dept of Justice. To Colonel Snyman of the SANDF and to Commissioner Bongani Gxilishe of the Department of Correctional Services. We say thank you.
On behalf of the Provincial government, we say a special thank you to the thousands of volunteers who support our government in its fight against crime, as without their dedication, our efforts would result to very little.
It is through their commitment as part of the peoples contract that we begin to live the ideal as espoused in the Freedom Charter, that the people shall govern.
I THANK YOU
Enquiries: Makhaya ManiMedia Liaison, Speechwriter and Ministerial Spokesman
Ministry of Community Safety
Western Cape
Tel: 021 483 3873
Email: mmanie@pgwc.gov.za
