DA@WORK 28 July
THE DA DECLARES WAR ON CRIME
Crime has left more people dead than the war in Iraq - citizens need
to ask why they live in fear at a time in the country's history when
they should have such hope.
DA TO HAND SCORPIONS LETTERS TO PARLIAMENT
The Democratic Alliance will on Monday submit over 2 000 written
submissions opposing the dissolution of the Scorpions to Parliament's
Safety and Security Committee.
GOVT FAILS ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Government has a complete lack of commitment on meeting performance
management requirements needed for efficient service delivery.
MALEMA'S STATEMENTS ARE OUTRAGEOUS AND DANGEROUS
ANC Youth League President Julius Malema's latest has said that Jacob
Zuma will rule even if he has to rule from prison and (for the second
time) that the DA should be eliminated.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The unexplained death of any child should never be ignored, or go
unpunished if any individual is to blame. To show such indifference to
the deaths of 142 children as to lose the report into their cause
however, is neglect on such a colossal scale that heads should roll –
in particular, that of the Eastern Cape MEC for Health, Nomsa Jajula.:
DA MP Mike Waters expresses the party's outrage at the disappearance
of the report into 142 baby deaths in the Eastern Cape. The Democratic
Alliance has written
http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=9158 to
President Mbeki asking him to intervene urgently in the matter.
THE DA DECLARES WAR ON CRIME
Launching her party's anti-crime campaign last Friday in Bloemfontein,
Helen Zille, leader of the Democratic Alliance, said: "Today we say:
enough is enough. Today is the day that we declare war on crime."
Crime, she said, has left more people dead than the war in Iraq.
Zille said citizens need to ask why they live in fear at a time in the
country's history when they should have such hope.
"The simple answer is that criminals know that they can get away with
it," she said. "They rely on the police's inability to find and arrest
them; on police dockets that simply disappear; on evidence that goes
missing or does not stand up in court; on cases that drag on and on
until they are dismissed.
"They assume that at every step of the arrest and conviction process,
there will be an official who can be bribed to make the case
collapse."
Zille, however, saluted the police as the unsung heroes of this war.
She said: "They are the brave men and women ... who stand on the front
line. They are the police officers that have sacrificed their lives to
fight crime."
"These are the troops, who have been deserted by those in government
who should be leading the charge. They have been left ill-equipped and
under-resourced for the battle they must wage."
"When DA MPs visit police stations, they find the same problems at
every one. There are not enough personnel; staff members are
inadequately trained; there are not enough weapons; there are not
enough vehicles; and -- most shocking of all -- there are not enough
life-saving bullet-proof vests."
She said that the ANC was in no shape to tackle the 'tsunami of
crime'. It had become a haven for convicted and suspected criminals.
She said the ANC had dismantled every specialised unit in the police
force, with disastrous consequences.
"Since the government disbanded the South African Narcotics Bureau in
2004, drug-related crimes have increased by a staggering 30%," she
said. "Since the child-protection units were closed down, crimes
against children have increased. Last year saw the number of children
murdered rise by 22% from the previous year.
"Since the closure of the commando units, violence in rural areas has
skyrocketed. Last year, farm attacks across the country increased by
25%."
Now, she said, the ANC wants to disband the Scorpions in order to
protect the criminals in its own ranks.
"It is obvious to all that the real reason for shutting down the
Scorpions is that they were too successful in exposing corruption in
high places," Zille said.
Nevertheless, Zille believes that, with the right policies, the right
attitude and the right leadership, the war on crime can be won.
"We can do it if we start with the basics," she said. "We must ensure
that our police force is competent and incorruptible, provide the
police with the resources, equipment and training they need to fulfil
their duties, ensure that those who break the law are detected,
arrested, prosecuted and punished and empower communities to protect
themselves from criminals."
She said that her party will be taking up the fight in communities all
over South Africa, staging marches, holding public meetings, visiting
police stations, delivering leaflets and talking to victims.
"We will also launch our national crime policy," she said. "We will
show people that the war against crime is not a lost cause. We will
show that crime is not something we have to accept as a fact of life,
like the weather or taxes."
This story appeared in the Mail and Guardian last week...
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-07-25-zille-declares-war-on-crime
DA TO HAND SCORPIONS LETTERS TO PARLIAMENT
The Democratic Alliance will on Monday submit over 2 000 written
submissions opposing the dissolution of the Scorpions to Parliament's
Safety and Security Committee.
Party spokesperson on Safety and Security, Dianne Kohler Barnard would
also hand over the names of the tens of thousands of South Africans
who had either signed the DA's petition against the disbanding of the
unit, or added their names to an SMS or online petition.
Monday was the final day for public submissions on the National
Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill and the South African Police
Services Amendment Bill, which aimed to bring about the Directorate of
Special Operations' (Scorpions) integration with the SAPS.
The Democratic Alliance has worked tirelessly to ensure that members
of the public were able to make their views heard on the disbandment
the Scorpions.
Prior to the submissions, it was made abundantly clear from numerous
opinion surveys that the majority of South Africans were opposed to
the move, Kohler Barnard said in an earlier statement.
She reiterated the party's view that the only way to effectively
target sophisticated crimes and criminals without undermining the due
processes of the law and the Constitution was to retain the Scorpions
in their current form.
"That the scorpions remain separate from the police force is also what
Judge Khampepe recommended to the government in the Khampepe
commission report tabled in May this year," she said.
GOVT FAILS ON PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Government has a complete lack of commitment on meeting performance
management requirements needed for efficient service delivery, the
Democratic Alliance said on Sunday.
This was revealed in replies to a series of parliamentary questions
posed by the DA to all government departments, DA public service and
administration spokesperson Karel Minnie said.
"The replies revealed that a large number of senior managers had
failed to sign performance agreements (PAs) in national departments,
while other departments had no systems in place to monitor the rate of
compliance by senior managers when it comes to signing PAs," he said.
Furthermore, while some departments had fairly high compliance rates,
they often failed to conduct performance assessments, thereby
rendering the signing of PA's completely futile.
In President Thabo Mbeki's February state of the nation address, 24
apex priorities were announced that would be incorporated into
government's programme of action to speed up change in a number of
areas.
One of the priorities was to ensure that all vacant positions in the
public service, especially at senior levels, were filled within six
months of the vacancy emerging, and that by May of every year, all
members would have submitted signed performance agreements, he said.
While a few departments reported a 99 and 100 percent compliance rate
over the past three financial years, including the departments of
finance, public enterprises, minerals and energy, and safety and
security, other departments had failed miserably.
The three worst were health, social development, and arts and culture.
Only a third of members in all three departments signed PAs by the
deadline of May 31 2007 during the 2007/2008 financial year.
Both the departments of health and social development's compliance
rate had also decreased each year since 2005/2006.
These two were responsible for delivery of basic services critical to
improving the lives of all South Africans.
"Usually a direct result of senior managers not signing PAs is a drop
in their performance which leads to a decrease in the delivery of
basic services to all citizens," Minnie said.
While certain departments had a good record in signing PAs, they had
then failed to assess their senior managers to determine whether they
had fulfilled the key performance indicators included in their
contracts.
The two worst performing departments in this regard were transport
and home affairs.
Transport replied that due to restructuring, the moderating committee
was still finalising the moderation of outstanding performance
assessments of members from as far back as the 2005/2006 financial
year.
Home affairs reported that out of the 41 senior managers who signed
PAs in 2005/2006 only 16 (39 percent) had been assessed to date.
Only 30 percent or 21 out of the 70 members who had signed
performance agreements in 2006/2007 had been assessed.
"It is evident from the replies received by the DA that a number of
government departments have shown a blatant disregard for the
performance management rules and regulations implemented by government
in the senior management service in 2002," Minnie said.
MALEMA'S STATEMENTS ARE OUTRAGEOUS AND DANGEROUS
ANC Youth League President Julius Malema's latest statements made at
the ANC's Free State Provincial Congress that Jacob Zuma will rule
even if he has to rule from prison and his call (for the second time)
that the DA should be eliminated were as outrageous as they were
dangerous, said DA parliamentary leader Sandra Botha
"In light of the failure of the ANC or even the Human Rights
Commission to take any punitive action against Malema, the DA will
continue to press ahead with criminal charges against him," she said.
"We have confirmed this morning, the charges of incitement to commit
public violence are being investigated by the Organised Crime unit at
Parkway Police Station in Bloemfontein."
It was apparent that the ANC was consciously exploiting every avenue
in an a coordinated campaign to convince the public that Jacob Zuma
must be acquitted in the court of public opinion for his alleged
bribery and corruption offences or else face political instability.
South Africans valued the rule of law and wanted a President that
could be a moral beacon and who would promote clean government and
conduct a credible fight against crime.
"At the very least, the people have the right to know whether Zuma is
the right person to do this," said Botha.
As the allegations against Zuma were criminal in nature, were he to be
found guilty, the ANC would have to put forward another candidate.
"It is not for Malema to bludgeon South Africans into a political
future which they would not otherwise have consented to through
threats of violence."
It was of utmost importance that the South African Human Rights
Commission (SAHRC) and the South African Police Service, institutions
that are there to uphold the Constitution and protect the public from
public violence, stood their ground.
"The DA will therefore continue to follow-up on the progress of the
investigation by the South African Police Service against Malema, and
will be meeting with SAHRC Chairperson Jody Kollapen on 11 August to
discuss the matter," Botha announced.
DID YOU KNOW?
The 2008 World Drug Report, released annually by the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime shows that South Africa is the drug capital
of Africa.
Amongst other findings, it emerged that:
• South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that produces
cannabis for export;
• It is also one of the few non-coca producing countries in the world
that have cocaine-producing laboratories;
• SA produces 28% of all of the cannabis produced in Africa (2 500
mega tonnes); and
• The number of methamphetamine (tik) laboratories dismantled by the
police in South Africa has increased 55% from 2005 to 2006, indicating
that the number of laboratories is not decreasing despite police
activity.
• According to the Auditor-General's assessment of borderline
security, our land borders are under-capacitated by 71%, our sea
borders by 96%, and our air borders have no permanent staff at all,
meaning there are almost no barriers to the importing and exporting of
drugs.
OOS
The Open, Opportunity Society in Action: Gauteng health MEC shows the
way in tackling the medical brain drain
In the DA's vision of an open, opportunity society, an effective
health system ensures that nobody is denied the opportunity to use
their talents as a result of ill health.
http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=9156
The Open, Opportunity Society in Action: DA welcomes launch of venture
capital fund to aid entrepreneurs
The fund is a good example of independent institutions providing the
space and showing the will to act for the establishment of a better
South Africa.
http://www.da.org.za/da/Site/Eng/News/Article.asp?ID=9165
EYE ON CRIME
ONE STRIKE AND YOU ARE OUT!
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/400
MINI-ME ZUMA: THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/399
NO ONE CONTROLLING OUR SEAS?
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/398
ATM BOMBINGS – WHAT IS THE ANSWER?
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/397
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