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Madam Speaker

The last six months under review have seen several developments that
have the potential to impact on service delivery in the Department of
Community Safety and Liaison. The newly appointed KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Police Commissioner Monnye Ngobeni assured us that the
province's citizens would see a significant decline in crime.

Although we are determined to offer the new appointee our full support,
we are equally determined to measure her performance against her pledge
ambitious pledge to finally make a drastic dent of the intolerable
levels of crime in our province. The new police commissioner has her job
cut out for her. KwaZulu-Natal remains one of the top provinces affected
by crime and according to crime statistics for the 2008/2009 fiscal
year, serious crimes like murder, car-jacking and business robbery had
increased in this province.

One category of crime in which we have recently witnessed one tangible
success story relate to incidents of politically-motivated violence.
Last month I proudly took part in an initiative that brought together
the leaders of uMvoti to collectively look at the challenges that have
confronted them during the past few months.

This was a seminal event since only a few weeks before, very few
observers - and indeed locals - would have believed that the African
National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party leaders could come together
in this fashion. Both political parties concerned demonstrated mature
leadership at a time when uMvoti was threatening to turn into a
battlefield.

Out of the provincial leaders of both the ANC and my party, the IFP, who
took active interest in the unhappy state of affairs in uMvoti, I wish
to single out the Hon. Ministers TW Mchunu and N Dube as well as the
Leader of the Official Opposition in this House, the Hon. Dr BT
Buthelezi.

These leaders have provided sterling leadership in normalising the
situation in this area. This particular tribute does not leave out
multitudes of ordinary men and women who made various contributions on
the ground towards achieving the fragile peace we now have in uMvoti
following a number of political murders.

Madam Speaker, it is an unfortunate part of our history that the demon
of enmity, intolerance and violence between the ANC and the IFP has
lived with us for decades and is refusing to die even fifteen years into
our cherished democratic dispensation.

Some among our people have lost all hope that there will ever be genuine
and lasting peace between our two organisations. Others may look down
even upon this latest initiative to relieve political tension as nothing
more than a talk-shop that cannot bring long-term benefits to a
community plighted by political intolerance.

Our people have lived to see their loved ones die the most excruciating
and cruel deaths. Our people have lived to see their hard-earned
properties destroyed in the flames of hatred and anger. Our people have
lived to see promise after promise broken and peace-accord after peace
accord violated with impunity. Our people have lived to hear their
leaders publicly humiliated and insulted with the worst epithets. All
these atrocities have taken place between ANC and IFP supporters.

This is the background against which we have to see this workshop if we
want it to produce tangible fruits that would be enjoyed not only by the
people of uMvoti, but by the whole province.

We in the IFP have taken part in this workshop against this very
background. But rather than to discourage us, this grim picture has
served to deepen our commitment to finding lasting peace and
reconciliation. To the IFP, the respect for human lives is more than
just a constitutional matter. To us, it is a moral obligation. This is
why we have an unwavering commitment to the success of this initiative
and others like it and, ultimately, the success of the long-overdue
reconciliation between the ANC and the IFP at all levels and, in
particular, at the level of the national leadership.

In order to achieve this, each organisation must not hesitate to
publicly denounce and disown anyone within its ranks - regardless of
what position the person holds - as long as he or she continues to
engage in words and deeds of provocation and insults, whether directly
or indirectly.

The latest developments in uMvoti serve to reaffirm our belief that this
approach can work. But let us keep in mind that fighting violence in
uMvoti will necessarily mark the end of the war. We have yet to win a
larger war to cleanse KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa of all vestiges of
intolerance, hatred, enmity and violence among the leaders and
supporters of the ANC and IFP. But I am confident. uMvoti is not an
island. Our success in this area must spur us to go out and inspire
peace and reconciliation elsewhere.

One other set of initiatives that may contribute to peace in this
province is action against taxi violence. Very recently Hon. MEC TW
Mchunu, in his capacity as political head of the provincial Department
of Transport, called an urgent meeting to discuss ongoing tension
between taxi operators in Nongoma in Zululand. Consultation with
relevant stakeholders is essential for developing a package of
interventions that would bring an end to taxi violence in Nongoma and
elsewhere.

The taxi industry is an important pillar of our integrated transport
system. If we want this industry to thrive, we must all strive to ensure
that it operates in an atmosphere of peace.

I thank you.