Speech for Northern Cape Premier Mme Dipuo Peters at the provincial launch of the Anti-Crime Mass Mobilisation Campaign at Galeshewe, Open Air Arena

Programme director
Safety and Liaison MEC, Themsi Madikane
Members of the Executive Council present
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Councillors
Provincial Police Commissioner, Zukiswa Mbombo
Representatives of various sectors of society
Ladies and gentlemen

This event is held on a very significant day in the African Union calendar, it's the celebration of the Africa Public Service Day. The first Pan African Conference of Ministers of Public and Civil Service held in Tangier, Morocco in 1994, resolved in their declaration that the 23 June of every year should be celebrated as the African Day of Administration and Civil Service. The fundamental objective enshrined in the Africa Public Service Day is the consideration of the working conditions of men and women who devote their lives to diligently serve the public. The other equally important consideration is the facilitation of positive interest by citizens in the work of public administration. This day also serves as a platform to reward good initiatives and promote professionalism in the public service. Let us observe this day with great pride as fellow South Africans.

We need a public service that is responsive to the needs of our people and committed to the implementation of the Public Service Standards. Ladies and gentlemen, public servants are the backbone of the administration therefore they have to be accessible, relevant and efficient in advancing our service delivery programmes. Programme director, we have gathered here at the Open Air Arena to reaffirm our commitment to the fight against crime, particularly the violent crime committed against women and children. The high levels of crime and fear of crime that we are currently experiencing at our homes, in our schools and streets is incompatible with the enjoyment of the freedoms that we have struggled for but our government and particularly the Department of Safety and Liaison is convinced that just as we have overcome injustice in the past, collectively as members of the different sectors of society so can we through collective action, overcome crime and violence.

We have gathered here because we believe that building of a society where all individuals and communities enjoy a good quality of life free from fear, violence and crime is a goal that we must all work together to achieve. Although we may sometimes feel overwhelmed by our fear, we should draw strength from our hopes and our capacity to act. Many people in many communities across the province in Galeshewe, Transit Camp and in Paballelo, Upington are already taking their future into their own hands by working with the police to fight crime. The Department of Safety and Liaison together with South African Police Service (SAPS) have already entered into fruitful discussions with leaders of civil society, religious communities and the business sector in order to get their buy-in and support in making a constructive contribution in the fight against crime in the province.

The "Anti-Crime Mass Mobilisation Campaign" which we are launching today has already received expressions of support from various sectors of society and we are here to appeal to the general society to "Act against Crime Together". This campaign recognises that the provision of safety and security is the responsibility of the Government and of the law-enforcement agencies. National, provincial and local government must therefore continue to work together in a concerted, focused and in an effective way to improve levels of public safety. However, we can't do it alone, thus the department has adopted the theme and slogan, "Act against Crime Together".

It is common course that crime is committed as a result of the complex interplay of various social, economic and historical factors such as poverty and inequality, family breakdown, the availability of firearms and the abuse of drugs and alcohol. However, while these factors may explain some causes of crime, they can never justify violent crime committed against women and children in the province. The focus of the Anti-Crime Mass Mobilisation Campaign, the integrated crime reduction strategies of both SAPS and the Department of Safety and Liaison are as follows:

1. improving the quality of policing
2. promoting effective social crime prevention initiatives
3. strengthening institutional arrangements to better understand and respond to crime in an integrated manner
4. encouraging community participation in crime reduction.

The campaign seeks to revitalise and strengthen Community Policing Forums (CPFs), mobilise civil society and stakeholders and people of all political persuasions and backgrounds to act in support of the agencies of law-enforcement and in partnership with government to fight crime. In launching this campaign the Department of Safety and Liaison seeks only to act as an initiator and facilitator. Other sectors both public and private should take the campaign further by providing a framework for grass roots, decentralised and localised initiatives to take root as part of a provincial wide effort. This campaign also aims to strengthen the bonds of trust between the community and the police. Indeed we are aware that this can only be achieved however, by improving the way in which policing is experienced by communities and the quality of the service they receive.

It is equally important for communities to provide support and recognition for the courageous and professional work carried out by police officers in the interests of our safety. Unfortunately, our province is still experiencing unacceptable levels of substance abuse resulting in crime being committed. Statistics has proven that the abuse and misuse of alcohol is one of the main generators of crime in our province and that it affects especially women and children who became victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence and sometime murder. We must Act against Crime Together, because it is our mothers, sisters and daughters who usually die at the hands of people either under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Alcohol is dangerous, it can be compared to a disease that eats away the core of society.

The Anti-Crime Mass Mobilisation Campaign calls on individuals, families and communities, to address those issues that have a negative impact on levels of public safety, criminality in schools, the abuse of alcohol and its impact on crime and road safety, drug abuse, corruption in law-enforcement agencies and other public services, challenge us all as parents, educators and community leaders to examine our norms, values and behaviour. To improve safety in our communities:

* we must adhere to rules and respect the rule of law
* report crime, not offer bribes and blow the whistle on corruption
* expose criminals in our families and communities
* we must not buy stolen goods
* and lastly protect our children through responsible parenting.

For this campaign to have a meaningful impact on crime it must be a campaign of rolling mass action. In the coming months the various Departments and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the Religious fraternity, sporting codes and the business sector should engage in the following:
Provide additional support to Community Policing Forums to assist them to engage their communities to partner with the police and to develop localised responses in each precinct. We encourage leaders in community-based organisations and leaders to provide support to CPFs. These should include shop stewards, educators, religious and other community leaders and those with professional skills. We need to have a number of volunteers declaring their availability to be deployed at hot-spots under the supervision of the police to protect people on the way to and from work, children on their way to and from school, elderly people collecting a pension, or people as they go about their daily business in public spaces. These volunteers will reduce the opportunities for predatory crime.

Since the stakeholders meeting which the Department of Safety and Liaison facilitated earlier last month in Kimberley the department has been busy encouraging our partners to develop their own campaigns to reduce crime. We also want to encourage business organisations to provide support to community based anti-crime initiatives. We call on media institutions to join hands in the fight against crime and became partners. We can on you to initiate unique and innovative projects which will be aimed at contributed towards the fight against crime in our province. With the will and commitment, we can make a huge impact on reducing incidents of crime and at the same time build the community's confidence in your institutions and our government. We should be free to walk in our streets at any time and anywhere without fear of being robbed, murdered or raped. Our children have the right to be free to play in the neighbourhood, without fear of being abducted, raped or killed.

In conclusion, we wish to thank you for sacrificing your Saturday and to join in as a Safety Volunteer and to express your interest and commitment in the fight against crime in the province. To those travelling to the far Regions of our Province, Namaqua, Siyanda, Kgalagadi and Pixley Ka Seme, on behalf of the Safety and Liaison MEC, Themsi Madikane, we say thank you very much for your attendance and interest. Please continue to be Safety Ambassadors and spread the message to those you are representing today. Travel safely and Arrive Alive.
To those who are staying behind in Kimberley and the surroundings lets also do likewise. The time has come to stand up and Act against Crime Together. Crime is not the responsibility of the police and the Department of Safety and Liaison alone, but that of all of us.

I thank you
Ke a leboga
Baie Dankie
Enkosi

Issued by: Northern Cape Provincial Government, Department of Safety and Liaison
23 June 2007