Statement of the Gauteng Alliance on the occasion of the launch of the Provincial Anti-Crime Campaign.
17 September 2015
The ANC, SANCO, COSATU and the SACP in Gauteng Province are launching the provincial anti-crime campaign under the banner of "Communities United Against Crime, Drugs and Police Killings". This campaign is premised on our long held belief that people are their own liberators. This ongoing campaign will be led by local structures of the Alliance. It will also involve various community based organisations. We are launching this campaign to reclaim our streets and communities through community activism.
The National Development Plan call on all stakeholders to build a South Africa where all are and feel safe. It goes further to recognise safety as a core human right, a necessary precondition for human development and progress.
As the economic hub of South Africa, Gauteng cannot be under siege from counter revolutionary criminals. The people of Gauteng play an important role in the economy of South Africa.
Whilst we have noted the steady decline in overall crime in the country since 2002, our people remain concerned about the still unacceptable levels of crime, particularly gender based violence, the proliferation of drugs in our communities and escalating attacks against law enforcement officials.
Major crimes like truck hijackings, business robberies, mall robberies and syndicates involved in cable theft are disrupting economic development in the country`s economic heartland.
Together with those involved in illegal electricity connections and deliberate vandalism of water pipes, these thugs are also destroying critical infrastructure necessary for the delivery of services to the people. This is unacceptable and should be stopped.
This initiative forms part of the ANC`s ten year Programme of Action captured in the ANC`s 53rd National Conference Resolutions. The resolutions call on all structures, starting at branch level, to "strengthen their work in communities and be the champion of political leadership, socio-economic transformation, local democracy and development".
In affirming the 52nd National Conference Resolutions, we are today renewing the resolution calling for the re-establishment and strengthening of street committees. This campaign will manifest itself in a number of marches to police stations around the province on Saturday 19th September 2015. The marches will be led by branch, zonal, regional and provincial leaders of the Alliance. Marchers will hand over memoranda at various police stations around the province condemning crime and calling for an end to crime, the selling and abuse of drugs, and the killing of police.
In offering support to the SAPS and CPF`s to combat crime, the Alliance through its structures will offer the commitment of the respective communities to unite against crime, and to be active in street committees. Together with law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system, communities remain at the heart of any successful anti-crime strategy.
We have it within our means as communities affected by crime to show strength in numbers; and participate in legal structures that are tackling the crime problem. A crucial aspect of the campaign is to raise awareness about the importance of CPF`s and encourage community members to join and be active in their nearest CPF`s. In communities where there are no street committees, Alliance structures will support local CPF`s to establish them.
In the lead-up to the Saturday marches, our structures have been actively mobilizing communities, working with civil society groupings, NGO`s, CBO`s, faith-based groups, women`s groups, burial societies as well as youth formations.
Mobilisation at ward level has been taking place throughout the week and will continue to take place until the march on Saturday. Our volunteers have been talking to community members in various wards throughout the province.
Based on preliminary figures provided, volunteers have managed to mobilize approximately 50 000-100 000 people for Saturday`s marches. We particularly note the high numbers of young people who have been mobilized to take part in the campaign. Seeing the youth behave as responsible citizens and active agents of societal transformation is encouraging and progressive. The scourge of violent crime, drug abuse and police killings threaten to severely undermine our developmental gains as a country
To break this vicious cycle of crime, communities should give support to victims of crime and our law-enforcement agencies. We are harnessing the power of our communities as agents of change. Our communities have a duty to protect women and children and to ensure that those who abuse them are exposed, arrested, prosecuted and given harsh sentences.
This campaign against crime is also informed by the 2014-19 Elections Manifesto. We call on all sectors of society to support this initiative, and join our marches on Saturday.
Issued by: ANC, COSATU, SANCO and SACP Gauteng Province.
- Hope Mankwana Papo ANC Gauteng Provincial Secretary
- Dumisani Dakile COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary
- Thuliswa Nkabinde SANCO Gauteng Provincial Secretary
- acob Mamabolo SACP Gauteng Provincial Secretary
For further information, contact:
Nkenke Kekana (ANC Gauteng Provincial Head of Communications) on 083 900 0096 and/or
Lucian Segami (SACP Gauteng Provincial Spokesperson) on 079 522 0098
