Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
The Member of the Provincial Council (MEC) responsible for Safety and Security in the Northern Province, Adv Seth Nthai, accompanied by a high ranking, nine member delegation from his province, will be visiting Germany from 8-11 March 1999 in order to learn from their German counterparts and to promote co-operation with Federal State of Saxony.
The purpose of the visit will be to establish closer contact between the two police forces and also to learn from the German police how they fight crime, illegal border crossings, etc. As the South African Police Service is an amalgamation of former police forces of the former homelands, former SAP and non-statutory forces, this visit will also provide an opportunity to learn from Saxony which went through a similar process of amalgamation after German reunification in 1990.
The Northern Province of South Africa, with its population of 4.9 million people, has the second highest unemployment rate of all South Africa's provinces. In order to address the high crime rate, which continues to impede the socio-economic development of the region, Adv Seth Nthai and his delegation intend to embark, in terms of the spirit of co-operation existing between the Northern Province and the Federal State of Saxony, on an exchange programme with German police experts to impart policing skills and expertise to members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) at the provincial level.
Adv Nthai and his delegation intend to do an in-depth study of German police operations and procedures in Saxony in order to build capacity and to gain practical and first hand knowledge of German expertise in dealing with crime. Both the South African Government and the business community fully support all initiatives which will enhance the SAPS's ability to reduce crime levels in South Africa.
In order to assist and to reduce pressure on the resources of the Embassy, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation has agreed to sponsor the visit at the request of the Embassy in Bonn/Berlin.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
ON BEHALF OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN EMBASSY IN BONN
PRETORIA
5 MARCH 1999