6 March 1997
Apartheid and the terrible legacy it has left us - mass unemployment, drastic poverty and the general breakdown of the moral fabric of our society clearly underpins the huge problem of crime and violence in our country. Rather than being a new phenomenon, it was precisely National Party rule that neglected crime in our communities and in which the police and courts were deployed to suppress people's political and social aspirations.
Successive National Party governments had no political will nor a comprehesive strategy to deal with this issue effectively. Instead they joined hands and sometimes even supported those who unleashed terror and violence in our societies. Recent revelations during the TRC, and trials and arrests of certain police personel indicate the extent of this rot.
As mass democratic formations active in communities our own particular focus is naturally at this level. However, crime permeates all levels of our society, and it is not just confined to residential areas. The truggle against crime must also be waged against white collar crimes committed in the board-rooms.
The advent of a new political dispensation has opened space and possibilities for the government and communities to join hands in the fight against crime and violence. We are fully supportive of attempts by the government and state structures to deal with issues of law and order and to focus specifically on how to involve communities in a real and meaningful way. We also support government's clear awareness that the fight against crime is not narrowly a law and order matter, but also requires ongoing social and economic transformation. The strategy as adopted by the government holds both long term and short term proposals which, if implemented, will go a long way towards tackling this scourge.
This Saturday, 8th March, is International Women's Day, and we shall be using the occasion to focus attention on one of the most serious crimes which has been too often hidden away from public scrutiny. This is the question of crime and violence against women and children
We see this particular focus as part and parcel of a broader Masakhane campaign in which our communities are mobilised to become active in the struggle for transformation. Having liberated our country, we cannot now allow criminals to take away our streets, our parks, our freedom of mobility at night.
The 8th of March will see the begining of anti-crime campaigns by the ANC, SACP, SANCO and COSATU in most major cities and towns.
Marches will be held over the country except in the E. Cape, N.Cape/Free State and Mpumalanga. The following activities are arranged.
Johannesburg : Marchers will assemble at the Freedom Square next to Shell House and march to John Voster Police Station. Sam Shilowa, Sydney Mufamadi and Charles Nqakula will address the marchers. The march will start at 10h00.
Memoranda will be submitted pledging support for government's anti-crime strategy, pledging our support for full participation in Community Policing Forums, and committing ourselves to work for the ransformation of the police, correctional and judicial services. We shall call on our members in these structures to lead by example in the transformation process. We will also be pledging our support and co-operation with these governments departments in their endeavours to deal with crime.
We are calling on our members to support and join these marches in their thousands. We further call on other sections of community including business and victims of crime to participate in these activities. In particular we are calling on crime victims to attend and approach the organisers if they are willing to address the marches.
These marches should not be seen as isolated events. We are calling on our structures to ensure that the campaign rolls, and that ongoing focus is given to all crime ridden areas.
Through the campaign we hope to achieve the following objectives:-
1. Raise awareness of the crime situation.
2. Get communities to engage in activities that address crime and its causes.
3. Get our members to participate in Community Policing Forums and help the
police to become more accountable to the communities they serve.
4. Help to rehabilitate criminals and to transform them into useful members of
our communities.
5. Support the SANCO initiated "Operation Mpimpa" campaign, by
encouraging communities to speak out fearlessly against crime and to expose
criminal networks.
6. Form partnerships between law enforcement agencies and the communities.
7. Rebuild the moral fabric of our societies by, amongst other things, not
condoning crime, and by discouraging communities buying stolen goods.
8. We shall reclaim our streets, houses, and parks. We want to have a society
where women and children are able to walk free in the streets without a fear
of being abducted and gang raped.