QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"What is… important is developing a new spirit of community
activism.... this means moving away from a victim mentality that stops
us from taking control of our lives…it means each one of us taking
responsibility for the community in which we live and encouraging
others to do the same. If every law-abiding resident … became the eyes
and ears of the police, crime rates would drop."
DA Leader Helen Zille led an anti-crime march in Port Elizabeth last
Saturday. Read the full address here >>
http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/Speeches/Speech.asp?ID=1558
DA PROPOSES BORDER SAFETY REVIEW
South Africa's international land borders are as porous as the
proverbial sieve, with tens of thousands of refugees streaming into
the country each week, alongside gun smugglers, drug traffickers and
stock thieves, said the Democratic Alliance last Tuesday.
The party has called for the deployment of SA National Defence Force
troops to the worst-affected border regions to bring the situation
under control.
"There is a security vacuum in our border and rural areas," DA safety
and security spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said.
The Border Control Co-ordinating Committee (BCOCC), the body
established to oversee border security, was not doing its job, and the
SA Police Service - tasked with the actual patrols - was seriously
under-equipped.
"Despite having been created in 2001, the BCOCC still has no complete
overall strategic plan relating to borderline policing, as well as no
divisional policy relating to borderline operations," she said.
South Africa was experiencing a flood of refugees, who were entering
the country at the rate of 28 000 a week. Besides Zimbabweans fleeing
the troubles in their country, there were also huge numbers of
Nigerians, Kenyans and Congolese.
DA defence spokesperson Rafeek Shah called for the urgent creation of
a specialised SANDF unit, paramilitary in nature, to police South
Africa's long land borders, as well as the establishment of permanent
border monitoring posts in high-risk areas.
According to a DA document distributed at the briefing - titled
"Sealing our Borders" - land border patrols are operating at 71
percent under capacity. There are also no permanent staff allocated to
air patrols along South Africa's land borders.
Further, the SA Police Service faced serious equipment shortages.
"There are frequently no fences in place and no compensating equipment
such as helicopters, horses or quad bikes to patrol borders in areas
not accessible by conventional vehicles."
There were between three and five million illegal foreigners in South Africa.
The document calls for the role of the SANDF in borderline security to
be looked at again.
"The DA believes that if the SAPS is going to retain responsibility
for maintaining our borderline security, then not only must the SAPS
border activities be overhauled, but the support role of the SANDF
needs to be revisited," it states.
Read the full document … click here to continue >>
http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=8867
REMEMBER THE UNEMPLOYED ON WORKERS DAY
While Workers Day commemorates the contribution of workers to society,
it also reminds people of SA's chronic unemployment, said the
Democratic Alliance last Wednesday.
"Workers Day reminds us of the millions of unemployed and discouraged
workers... it serves as a stark reminder of South Africa's chronic
unemployment problem," said DA labour spokesperson Anchen Dreyer.
The International Monetary Fund's 2007 report noted that the country's
high unemployment rate emphasised how government needed to revise
onerous labour market regulations that encouraged unemployment, Dreyer
said.
She said: "The DA has long contended that relaxing onerous labour laws
will make it easier for both the unemployed and the growing volume of
discouraged job-seekers to enter the job market."
"This Worker's Day must be used to address the growing challenges
faced by the unemployed if we are to realise our goal of reducing
poverty and halving unemployment by 2014."
"While South Africa's narrow unemployment rate of 23 percent is
alarmingly high, the broad definition of unemployment at 36 percent is
reaching crisis proportions."
"Disturbingly, the number of discouraged workers is on the rise in
South Africa. Specifically, the number of discouraged job-seekers have
increased by 431 000 to 3.4 million between September 2001 and
September 2007."
"The 3.9 million narrowly defined unemployed in the years to September
2007 indicates that there are almost as many discouraged job-seekers
as there are active job-seekers," she said.
Dreyer said in conclusion that government had to consider how labour
market policies and trade union actions affected unemployment and the
prospects of millions of South Africans.
ESKOM TARIFF INCREASES WOULD BE RECKLESS
Allowing Eskom's requested 53 percent tariff increase would be
reckless, the Democratic Alliance said last Tuesday.
Expecting government and, in particular, the public, to condone a 60
percent tariff increase was without grounds or basis.
"It is the DA's view that an agreement to any additional tariff
increases would be reckless in light of the prevailing failures by
government and mismanagement on the part of Eskom," said party
minerals and energy spokesperson, Hendrik Schmidt.
In a submission to the National Energy Regulator (Nersa), tasked with
regulating the electricity, piped-gas and petroleum pipeline
industries, the DA said it recommended an independent inquiry into
South Africa's energy crisis before any tariff hikes could be
considered.
"The electricity crisis with which we are now faced has been fraught
with Eskom mismanagement and government failure - the mismanagement
has led to a serious loss of confidence in Eskom's ability to manage
its own affairs, both from a financial as well as an operational
perspective."
"An independent multi-disciplinary task team must urgently be
appointed to investigate the causes of and possible solutions to the
current crisis. Merely agreeing to the increases would most probably
lead to further mismanagement."
Schmidt said that the party had requested an independent commission of
inquiry to assess Eskom's culpability in the crisis, its current
production capacity and its ability to provide continuous future
supply on 19 March 2008, a request which had so far been ignored.
Tuesday was the final day for written submissions to Nersa on the
proposed tariff hike, and Schmidt said the DA proposed that until
completion of the inquiry, no application for an increase be
entertained by NERSA.
Read the full document … click here to continue >>
http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=8868
For more on the electricity crisis, visit SHEDDING LIGHT
http://sheddinglight.wordpress.com/
DA CHAMPIONS THE FIGHT FOR RETAINING THE SCORPIONS
The Democratic Alliance will again ask the Speaker of Parliament to
suspend the process to disband the Scorpions, the party said on
Sunday.
DA chief whip Ian Davidson said he had asked Baleka Mbete to halt the
legislative process to disband the Directorate of Special Operations
(Scorpions) in March pending the outcome of a legal challenge to the
process on Constitutional grounds by concerned citizen Hugh Glenister.
"I have not as yet received a reply from her," said Davidson.
In the light of the release of the Khampepe Commission report on
Monday, in which Judge Sisi Khampepe plainly recommends that the
Scorpions be retained within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA),
and following on the decision last Wednesday by President Thabo
Mbeki's cabinet to approve the General Law Amendment Bill and the
National Prosecuting Amendment Bill in advance of the two Bills being
tabled in Parliament this week, Davidson would again be writing to the
Speaker to reiterate the DA's call.
Speaking on the Scorpions earlier in the week, DA leader Helen Zille
said that Cabinet should explain to South Africans why they took a
dramatic U-turn in approving the bill to incorporate the Scorpions
into the SAPS.
Zille said less than two years ago cabinet had endorsed the Khampepe
Commission's recommendation to retain the Scorpions in the National
Prosecuting Authority.
"So what has changed?" said Zille.
"What has happened in this period that warrants the disbanding of the
most successful crime-fighting unit in the country?"
Zille said it was the African National Congress leadership that
emerged from Polokwane which wanted to disband the Scorpions - in
order allegedly to protect high profile members from investigations.
Zille said two weeks ago that ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe had
apparently admitted the ANC wanted to see the Scorpions closed down
because it was targeting ANC leaders in its investigations.
"The dissolution of the Scorpions will weaken the fight against
crime," she added.
Zille said the DA and sectors of civil society would continue to fight
to prevent this happening.
SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP THE DISBANDING OF THE SCORPIONS >>> CLICK HERE
http://www.mypetition.co.za/index.php?page=sign_petition&petition_id=39
SUPPORT THE COURT CHALLENGE AGAINST THE DISBANDMENT OF THE SCORPIONS!
Join the Democratic Alliance and other political parties outside the
High Court in Pretoria on to form a combined opposition to the
disbandment of the Scorpions.
The protest will be held in front of the court building, corner of
Vermeulen and Paul Kruger Streets at 9.30 am on 20 May 2008, the day
of the court hearing of the application by Hugh Glenister to stop the
government's attempt to disband the Scorpions.
DID YOU KNOW?
• The number of South African Police Service (SAPS) officers boarded
for health or stress reasons has more than doubled in the past year.
• In reply to a parliamentary question, the Minister of Safety and
Security revealed that increasing numbers of South African Police
Service (SAPS) members are being declared unfit for duty for stress or
health reasons.
• The Democratic Alliance (DA) has found that since 2005, the number
of police officers declared unfit for duty due to health problems has
increased by 146%, and the number declared unfit for stress reasons,
by 100%.
RELEASE OF KHAMPEPE COMMISSION REPORT - WILL IT MAKE IT HARDER FOR THE ANC?
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/349
THE IMPORTANCE OF A CRIME SCENE
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/348
GUEST LETTER: SHOOTING FROM THE HIP WILL NOT SOLVE CRIME
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/347
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