DA PROPOSES MEASURES TO COMBAT CABLE THEFT
The direct and indirect costs of metal theft were severe, and already
Telkom and Eskom had lost more than a billion rand in the past few
years.
ANC AGAIN SHOWS CONTEMPT FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC IN SCORPIONS
DISBANDMENT MATTER
More than 100 000 South Africans have so far become involved in the
battle over the future of the Scorpions - and had petitioned for the
specialised crime-fighting unit to stay.
SA GOVT IS SOFT ON CRIME AND TOUGH ON VICTIMS OF CRIME
Nowhere else in the world is the balance so tilted in favour of those
who rape, murder and pillage.
THE PLOT THICKENS…MBEKI MUST COME CLEAN ON ARMS DEAL ALLEGATIONS
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille urged Mbeki to appoint a
commission of inquiry and explain his alleged involvement ino renewed
allegations that he received a R30 million bribe from a German arms
contractor
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Jacob Zuma has consistently asked for his day in court. He and his
supporters must now accept today's decision as the legitimate
pronouncement of the Court and must desist from any further attempts
to block the course of justice…If Zuma is indeed innocent, they have
nothing to be concerned about because they can have faith in the
independence and impartiality of the judiciary."
DA Leader Helen Zille comments on the Constitutional Court's dismissal
of Jacob Zuma's challenges to the lawfulness of search and seizure
operations conducted by the prosecution and the use of original
Mauritian documentation in his corruption trial.
DA PROPOSES MEASURES TO COMBAT CABLE THEFT
The Democratic Alliance has proposed several measures to curb metal
theft, which is costing the economy billions of rand each year.
"Metal theft is a serious problem which could undermine the proper
functioning of our infrastructure network, as well as hindering future
economic growth and development," DA safety and security spokesperson
Dianne Kohler Barnard said last Thursday.
The direct and indirect costs of metal theft were severe, and already
Telkom and Eskom had lost more than a billion rand in the past few
years.
Not only copper cable, but also piping and iron manhole covers were
stolen and sold for scrap metal. The theft of these items caused
severe disruptions to service delivery in addition to endangering
people's lives.
Metal theft had led to the deaths of at least six young children,
Kohler Barnard said.
South Africa had minimal reserves of copper, yet 3 000 tons of copper
left Cape Town harbour every month, which at R50 a kilogram translated
into R15 million worth of stolen copper a month.
It was estimated that South Africa lost approximately R5-billion a
year due to metal theft, she said.
Cable theft and the resulting disrupted electricity and telephone
services affected hundreds if not thousands of people who were
prevented from going about their daily business.
"Unless decisive action is taken, it is likely that metal theft will
cause more needless pain and suffering and place even further strain
on the economy," Kohler Barnard said.
The DA proposed that the Non-Ferrous Metal Theft Combating Committee
be empowered through legislation and have its own dedicated budget,
and that the police should reinstate the SAPS code for copper theft to
aid crime information, create a specialised unit to deal with such
thefts and provide specialised training for SAPS members in this
regard.
"There should be a comprehensive training module on metal theft, in
particular copper theft, for judicial officers such as public
prosecutors and judges," she said.
Export controls for non-ferrous metals (NFMs) should be reviewed and
strengthened, and a feasibility study done into a special NFM export
duty.
The funds generated should be used to compensate businesses for losses
incurred as a result of copper cable theft.
Further, copper cables should be marked in some way, such as
micro-dotting and identifying groove markings, and a reward hotline
introduced for those providing information leading to arrests.
Finally, the draft Second-hand Goods Bill's passage through parliament
should be expedited and the backlog of licence applications by NFM
dealers cleared, she said.
ANC AGAIN SHOWS CONTEMPT FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC IN SCORPIONS
DISBANDMENT MATTER
Comments made during a briefing at parliament last Wednesday by the
chairpersons of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional
Development and the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security
displayed the ANC's complete and utter contempt for the legitimacy of
public participation and the parliamentary processes involved in the
drafting of legislation, said the Democratic Alliance.
"The decision to disband the Scorpions by absorbing the unit into the
SAPS was once again presented by the ANC as a fait accompli, the
implementation of which cannot and will not be in any way swayed by
public opposition to the move," said DA safety and security
spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard.
She added that the committee chairs had misrepresented the number of
members of the public who had voiced their opposition to the
disbanding of the Scorpions, saying that signing petitions did not
represent a legitimate exercise in public submission and further that
only 100 of the 14 000 submissions received by the ministry were
deemed acceptable
"Even more disturbing was the attempt by the committee chairs to cast
aspersions on the legitimacy of the submissions received, based on
race or party affiliation."
"Justice Chairperson Yunus Carrim went so far as to say that the
submissions held no weight because, according to his own
unsubstantiated assessment, they come from 'a particular section of
society," she said.
She said that the DA would ensure that every single submission and
every single name on every petition was recorded and noted in the
first in the series of public hearings on the Scorpions legislation at
Parliament this week.
"Failing which we will petition the Speaker of the National Assembly
to intervene in the matter," she said.
More than 100 000 South Africans had so far become involved in the
battle over the future of the Scorpions - and had petitioned for the
specialised crime-fighting unit to stay.
The Democratic Alliance last Monday presented parliamentary officials
with written public submissions - in defence of the beleaguered unit -
from more than 2 000 people. This was an unprecedented public response
to calls for written submissions, which are normally counted in the
tens or, at most, in the hundreds.
The official opposition also submitted a list of more than 98 000
people who either signed a petition against the planned disbandment or
participated in a privately initiated SMS campaign to "Save the
Scorpions".
Kohler Barnard said the government's decision had attracted clear
public outrage, and that it would confirm its contempt for the wishes
of the public if it continued with the scrapping of the Scorpions.
One of the submissions suggested that "we must not allow criminals to
be protected by the government", while another decried the ANC
decision thus: "Why can't the ANC genuinely act in the best interests
of all the people of this country? … Surely the ANC can see that if it
supports criminals in its ranks, it will ultimately undermine the
whole organisation? It amazes me just how much the ANC is beginning to
resemble the (now defunct) National Party."
SA GOVT IS SOFT ON CRIME AND TOUGH ON VICTIMS OF CRIME
As part of a national anti-crime campaign, the DA held an Imbizo for
victims of crime in Durban. Addressing the Imbizo, DA leader Helen
Zille said that South Africa had become a utopia for criminals and a
dystopian nightmare for victims.
"Nowhere else in the world is the balance so tilted in favour of those
who rape, murder and pillage."
"Most criminals are free to operate with impunity, safe in the
knowledge that their crimes will go unreported or undetected."
"If they are caught, there is a good chance that they will never face
justice: police dockets disappear, evidence goes missing, prosecutors
are not adequately prepared, the results of forensic tests are
delayed, and cases get postponed over and over again until they are
dismissed."
Two pages of the Constitution were devoted to the rights of arrested,
detained and accused persons but there was nothing in law that
protected the rights of the victims by offering them redress for the
crimes committed against them such as counselling and psychological
support.
When criminals were imprisoned they enjoyed rights that many South
Africans living in poverty had never achieved - including the right to
vote - making SA one of the few countries in the world where this was
allowed.
"It is surely a great irony that law-abiding citizens who have left
the country because of crime are not entitled to vote, while those
that perpetrated the crimes can continue to participate in elections,"
Zille said.
The government's attitude towards the victims of crime needed to change.
"It is often said that when a South African is a victim of crime, they
are a victim twice. They are victimised first by violent criminals and
then victimised again by the criminal justice system."
"Upholding the rights of victims must become a key focus area of our
criminal justice system. There needs to be a legally enforceable
Victims of Crime Charter that sets out exactly what the rights of
victims are and how they will be enforced," she said.
"In addition, while no amount of money can undo the damage wreaked by
violent crime, no victim should have to suffer financial losses as a
result of it - under a DA government there would be a Victims of Crime
Fund to pay for psychological treatment and counselling, medical
expenses, loss of earnings, burial and funeral expenses, moving or
relocation expenses, job retraining for disabled victims and financial
support to care for the dependents of a murder victim," Zille
explained.
"In our vision of an open, opportunity society the criminal justice
system would work for the victims and against the criminals …this is
not an impossible dream. With the right ideas and the political will,
we will beat crime. We will never give up."
THE PLOT THICKENS…MBEKI MUST COME CLEAN ON ARMS DEAL ALLEGATIONS
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille urged President Thabo Mbeki to
appoint a commission of inquiry and explain his alleged involvement
the arms deal after renewed allegations that he received a R30 million
bribe from a German arms contractor.
"If the President facilitated a R2 million bribe for Jacob Zuma and
R28 million for the ANC, it would show that the ANC is rotten to the
core and would indicate that the Zuma, Shaik and Yengeni trials are
merely the tip of the arms deal iceberg," she said.
It would explain why Mbeki and the ANC had blocked every attempt to
investigate the arms deal.
"President Mbeki must now explain himself to the nation in a televised
address without delay. We have the right to hear his side of the
story. He has the right to tell his side of the story. But we want
the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
"Whether he admits or denies the allegation, the President must
appoint a Judicial Commission of Inquiry, headed by a judge of
impeccable reputation and with full powers of subpoena, to fully
investigate every aspect of the arms deal," Zille said.
"The Arms Deal continues to be a festering sore on the moral
consciousness of our nation," she said.
The effects of the ANC's attempts to cover it up and to block the
course of justice were being felt in every independent institution of
state - Parliament, the Auditor-General and the Public Protector had
been interfered with, the judiciary was under attack and the Scorpions
were being cynically disbanded by the ANC to protect its leaders from
further corruption investigations.
"It is time for all those who solicited bribes in the arms deal to
face the full force of the law - in order to close this sordid chapter
in our democracy's short history, we need to open up a full judicial
inquiry into what transpired," Zille said.
DID YOU KNOW?
Public support appears to be overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the
scorpions as South Africa's elite crime fighting force. A number of
recent polls suggest that support for the retention of the Scorpions
is high. These include:
• a Sowetan poll showing 79 percent support for its retention;
• an online poll by Carte Blanche indicating 97 percent support;
• an Ipsos-Markinor poll suggesting 67 percent trusted the Scorpions
versus 31 percent who said the same about the SAPS - only 24 percent
thought it was a good idea to disband the unit;
• and a TNS Research Survey which revealed that 59 percent of those
polled in urban areas believed the Scorpions, or an equivalent unit,
should remain separate from the SAPS.
WARNING FROM EYE ON CRIME READER
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/405
ZILLE DENIED VISIT TO POLICE STATION
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/403
100 000 CITIZENS HAVE THEIR SAY OVER THE DISBANDMENT OF THE SCORPIONS
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/402
A DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST CRIME: DA LAUNCHES NATIONAL CRIME CAMPAIGN
http://www.eyeoncrime.co.za/?q=node/401
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