16 posts tagged “crime”
Looking at some of today's headlines make me wonder (and today is not exceptional either).
KZN man killed in attack
Two women raped in KZN
Couple attacked after church
Armed men shoot at moving taxi
Two killed in xenophobic attacks
Teenage girls rob man
Cops fire on ANC members
Agric boss 'remorseless killer'
State vehicle was running booze
Robbers clean out tellers
Gang gets R500 000 in pensions
And that's just from ONE news source (News24) over a 17-hour period.
I received this by e-mail from a colleague. It seems that some people are getting really tired of car thefts here in South Africa. A novel way to protect a car to be sure!
Originally circulated in 2004. I am sure many of the stats still hold true.
Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:
29 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad cheques
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year
373 in total or approximately 70%
Can you guess which organisation this is?
It's the 535 members of the SOUTH AFRICAN PARLIAMENT
South Africans have long known that crime in our country is out of control. Corruption and fraud are all around us, and every day there are numerous murders, rapes, robberies, burglaries, thefts, car hi-jackings and so on.
So it should not come as a surprise that Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, and two MDC officials were robbed in Johannesburg.
According to the police, "The robbers stole the three men's bags, laptops, cellphones and an undisclosed amount of Zimbabwe dollars."
Now hold on a minute. Bags can be sold, laptops can be sold, and cellphones can be sold. Understandable. But Zimbabwe dollars?
The Zimbabwe dollar is so worthless that people don't even want it in Zimbabwe itself. That's why there is such a large black market for US dollars and South African rands in that country. The exchange rate is 30 000 Zimbabwe dollars to 1 US dollar, or 3 892 Zimbabwe dollars to the South African rand.
These robbers probably would not even be able to give that money away.
Yesterday local media reported that a man walked into the Mamelodi East police station and reported that he had been held up by robbers who took his cellphone.
The police then phoned the number of the "stolen" phone, which started ringing in the complainant's pocket! The man was promptly arrested for perjury and obstruction of justice.
The full story can be read here.
South Africa officially has the highest prevalence of HIV infections in the world now.
News24 reports:
Geneva - More than three-quarters of Aids-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa is now officially the country with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world, a new UN report said on Wednesday.
Improved monitoring of the pandemic has led the United Nations to revise its estimates, particularly in Southern Africa and Asia, resulting in a major revision in the assessment of India's epidemic, the country previously thought to be worst-hit.
"South Africa is the country with the largest number of HIV infections in the world," read the UNAIDS annual report on the epidemic for 2007.
While the report did not give a figure, the South African government currently estimates about 5.5 million of the country's 48 million population are living with the disease. (Full report here)
This is a terrible state of affairs in the most advanced country in sub-Saharan Africa.
I cannot help but think how South Africa has been, over the past couple of decades, systematically removing all acknowledgment of God from every aspect of society. The country has moved from being (at least nominally) a Christian state to a secular one, has brought the teaching of evolution as fact into schools, has legalised abortion (including for 12-year-old children without the knowledge or consent of parents), legalised homosexual unions, and so on.
The further our socialist/communist government attempts to push God away, the worse things get, it seems. Our crime levels are out of control, HIV infection is the worst in the world, teenage pregnancies abound, rapes are commonplace (even rapes of babies and toddlers are increasingly common).
I cannot help but think that the one is a symptom of the other. Where will it end?
The fact that the police acted so quickly and captured the alleged murderers of Lucky Dube so soon after the murder is commendable.
However, it does raise, once again, the question: why is it that whenever a public figure is murdered, robbed, or hijacked, the police are able to identify and arrest the suspects within days, sometimes even hours?
When the crimes are perpetrated against ordinary mortals, the wheels just don't seem to turn as quickly.
By now, everyone in South Africa will have heard that Lucky Dube was murdered in an attempted hijacking last night. It is a tragedy and a serious loss to the music world.
I was at a Lucky Dube concert just a year ago, and I count myself fortunate to have seen him live. I certainly won't get another chance!
It is tragic that crime is so rampant in this country. When will the ANC government finally acknowledge that it has lost the battle against crime?
I received the press release below from his record company this morning.
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 19 OCTOBER 2007
_____________________________________________________________________
LUCKY DUBE’S RECORD LABEL, GALLO, MOURNS HIS TRAGIC LOSS
The staff of Gallo Record Company are devastated by the news of the tragic passing of reggae legend Lucky Dube. Lucky was slain in an attempted hijacking in Rosettenville in Johannesburg last night, at approximately 8pm, whilst dropping off his children at a family members house.
Although Lucky attempted to escape the scene, he had been fatally wounded from the hijacker’s attempt to steal his motor vehicle, and he died almost instantly.
Senseless and random, the death of Lucky Dube leaves a great void in the music industry, as 25 years of music suddenly ends in tragedy.
South African born but globally revered, Lucky Dube was one of the country’s most toured and beloved artists ever. His music touched millions around the world, primarily through his 22 recorded albums - in Zulu, English and even Afrikaans - many of which have been record breakers with phenomenal sales from around the globe.
As a frontline artist in the reggae genre, Lucky's creativity and inventiveness kept growing. Compelling in his musicianship and intriguing in his lyrical content, Lucky's sonic daring to take his genre to new heights never failed to amaze even the most ardent fans, whilst reigning in new devotees to his magic every day.
His energetic band toured with him from continent to continent as South African musical ambassadors, and his live performances have earned him fans and accolades the world over.
Lucky joined Teal Records (later to become Gallo) as a fresh-faced young Mbaqanga singer in 1982. Five albums later he found a genre that spoke to his soul and changed the way he viewed the world. This genre was Reggae.
With his long-time sound engineer and best friend Dave Segal, he created some of the most legendary pieces of reggae music ever recorded, including the tracks Prisoner, Taxman, Slave, Victims, Together As One and Respect – all social anthems that garnered him the adoration of the people of his country - and across the globe.
Lucky was an artist that continued to break international barriers and recently just signed a deal with Warner Music International, securing him album releases across Europe of his latest album Respect.
Ivor J. Haarburger, CEO of Gallo Music Group is deeply saddened by the loss. “Lucky was not just an extraordinary artist, he was a personal friend. We go back over twenty years and had both a business and personal relationship. It’s so sad to lose such a great friend and so tragically, why?”
There are very few words that capture the magnitude of this devastating loss. As a musician, father and colleague, Lucky was one of the most charming, respected, selfless and dedicated people to have lived. He will be sorely missed.
Lucky Dube was survived by his new wife Zanele and his 7 children Bongi, Nonkululeko, Thokozani, Laura, Siyanda, Philani and his brand new three-month old baby Melokuhle.
Should you wish to send a message of condolence to Lucky’s family, please email
Lucky@gallo.co.za or fax on +27 (0) 11 340 9471
-Ends-
For more information: Sibongile Nkabinde on (011) 340-9620 or sibongilen@gallo.co.za
My dad sent me an e-mail, obviously a chain e-mail. Usually I ignore this kind of thing and delete it, but this one appears quite interesting. I have not checked the maths yet, but it does raise some interesting ethical questions. Any thoughts?
I've tidied the text a bit, but here it is:
Crime definitely pays!
Question: "What is the influence of crime on the SA Govt?"
Answer: Crime generates millions and millions of rands for the SA government.
Here are the facts:
Example 1:
Take just one million home owners in Gauteng who pay for "armed crime reaction" (not crime prevention) where private security companies react AFTER the crime has taken place – no wonder they never make any arrests!
This service costs on average R250 p.m. Therefore 1 000 000 x R240.00 X 12 months x 14% VAT, generates R403 million in tax revenue for the SA government!
Example 2:
A car thief steals a R500 000 car and receives between R10 000 and R30 000 for his deed.
The car owner is paid out by insurance and then purchases another similar vehicle, on which he pays 14% VAT of approx R70 000 as a direct result of crime. Who profited the most? The thief or the SA government?
We must begin with a mechanism whereby the SA government is forced to reconsider this unconstitutional and immoral practice of profiting from crime!
All South Africans should demand that all payments related to protection of life and property should be VAT free and tax deductible!
This principle should also apply to replacement of stolen property as well as estate duty. If a person dies as a result of crime we should also demand that estate duty not be paid.
How much do you think the SA government has made out of estate duty from the murders of 1 300 South African farmers?
The SA government likes to compare us to overseas. Well overseas, your safety and security is covered by your income tax and is tax deductible!
It is time that South Africans stood together and made the government and public aware of the government’s "income" from crime. In the meantime crime is the goose that lays the golden egg.
Is it also not unreasonable to expect victims of violence and hijackings to pay their own medical costs? The government should pay for these expenses as well as family counselling for victims!
Come on South Africa, ask the right questions and demand the right answers!
Murders in Canada in 2005 (I don't have 2006 stats): 958.
Murders in South Africa in 2006: 18 528.
South Africa's defence minister, Mosiuoa Lekota, responding to African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe, had this to say in Parliament this week on the issue of crime in the country:
"Why single out the voice of some wealthy individual who can afford to take the whole family, leave this country and go to Australia and highlight that in this house? The Honourable Meshoe invites into this house the comments of someone sitting in the exaggerated comfort of European cities, pointing a finger and saying how wrong the country is."
Lekota seems to feel that the source of complaints about the levels of crime in this country make those complaints invalid.
He said further:
How exactly does Lekota expect ordinary citizens to fight against criminals? With guns? That's a bit difficult, since government has made it harder for citizens to obtain firearms licences."We are interested in the citizens of this country, who want to sit here and fight. What we need is partnership in the battle again crime, not these eloquent spectators speaking from the comfort of their homes elsewhere."
How should this woman, a 74-year old who was raped twice, have fought against crime, Mr Lekota? How would you have advised these three first-year students to fight against the men who raped them? And this 86-year-old woman who was murdered by teenage boys?
Tell us, O wise Mr Lekota, how these victims were meant to "sit here and fight"?
It is glaringly obvious to all who are not intimidated by warnings to be "patriotic" and not whinge that the African National Congress has lost the fight against crime in this country. And a government that has lost control of crime has simply lost control. It is not fit to govern because it has proved that it cannot govern.
Patriotism is love and support for one's country, not a political party. True patriots need to stand up in the next election and use their votes to say: "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH".
If the ANC government will not fulfil its mandate, perhaps a new government will.
