ON Saturday, 20 April, the Democratic Alliance (DA) announced the latest element of its party’s manifesto offer.
The DA wants to reduce crime within a single term.
This will happen if the party is elected to government after the elections on 29 May.
The party said that while its overall plan to reduce crime in Mzansi includes key elements such as devolving policing powers to relevant local and provincial governments, the professionalisation of the SAPS, the creation of a new, fully independent Chapter 9 institutions to tackle priority crimes and the establishment of rural safety units to combat farm murders as well as the explosion of violent crime against women and children, requires a targeted response.
The party said it must be elected to government to tackle this scourge of violent crime once and for all.
“The DA is committed to establish specialised courts to deal with crimes against women and children, including abuse, kidnapping, human trafficking and murder. Establish specialised units within the SAPS to focus on crimes against women, children and minors and strengthen investigative and forensic capacity to combat the rise in kidnapping, human trafficking and murder. And urgently create dedicated capacity and resources within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prioritise and fast track the prosecution of persons charged with gender-based violence, child abuse, human trafficking and murder,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.
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He said that South Africans need not wait until after the elections to take action. "That's why I have already written to President Cyril Ramaphosa urging him to rise above politics and initiate these commonsense measures before election day.
"These urgent measures are necessary following the significant increase in child murders and abductions over the past year,” he said.
He said 871 children were murdered across the country between April and December 2023. Many of them were caught in the crossfire of gang-related violence and crime, which is on the rise in communities across the country.
Steenhuisen claimed that despite these shocking statistics, they have seen President Ramaphosa, Police Minister Bheki Cele and the ANC government simply turn a blind eye to GBV and crimes against children time and time again.
