Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma says government will continue to improve the capacity of the police, particularly the detective service, as part of a renewed battle against crime and corruption.
Zuma on Thursday delivered this year's State of the Nation Address in front of a packed joint sitting of Parliament attended by, among others, former Presidents Thabo Mbeki and FW De Klerk.
"We have increased visible policing and patrols in identified hotspots. We are making visible progress in reducing the proliferation of illegal and legal firearms," Zuma said.
In addition to existing programmes that government has been implementing to fight crime, he outlined a number of initiatives it will undertake this year, including improving the police and prisons services.
Government will work with communities and other stakeholders to deal with drug peddling and drug abuse. The target for the reduction of violent crimes is between 7 and 10% per year. Government has met this target consistently, but Zuma said more needs to be done.
The latest crime statistics, released in September last year, also revealed that the murder rate in the country has fallen below 17 000 a year. During the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010, the number of murders in South Africa stood at 16 834, which is 8.6 percent lower than the previous year's 18 148. That means South Africa's murder rate is officially down to 34.1 murders per 100 000 people.
Given the five priority areas for the next five years on which the ruling African National Congress based its 2009 election manifesto, Zuma made it clear that combating corruption at all levels of government was of paramount importance. About R44 million has been recovered from public servants who are illegally benefiting from housing subsidies, while the cleaning up of the social grants system of fraud was also continuing.
"We have directed the Special Investigating Unit to probe alleged maladministration or corruption in various government departments, municipalities and institutions. While not pre-judging the investigations, they prove our resolve to combat corruption at all levels of Government and the public service," said Zuma.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa recently said that the restructuring of the criminal justice system was a major factor in the fight against crime, and would result in more efficient courts and prosecutors. Efforts have already begun to boost detective, forensic and intelligence services.
On Thursday, Zuma said a Special Anti-Corruption Unit had been established in the Department of Public Service and Administration to handle corruption-related disciplinary cases involving public servants.
He spoke out decisively about the debilitating effect that crime and drug abuse was having on progress in South Africa. "I have directed our police force to deal decisively with people who sell drugs to children in Cape Town and other areas. We will also not tolerate tavern owners who sell alcohol to children," he said.
The President pledged to do his part to help stamp out drug abuse in communities. "My visit to a drug rehabilitation centre in Mitchells Plain on Tuesday convinced me that we need more energy in the fight against drug abuse and drug peddling in our communities."
