Remarks by Minister of Police, EN Mthethwa at the Agriculture South Africa Rural Safety Crime conference, Centurion, Gauteng, March 8 2010

Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mr A Nel
MEC for Safety and Liaison in Northern Cape, Mr P Mabilo
Representatives from the ANC, Mr Schoeman and Mr Swanepoel
President Agriculture South Africa, Mr J Moller
Deputy President Agriculture South Africa, Mr T de Jager
Chairperson of Community Safety at Agriculture South Africa, Mr A Botha
Secretary of Police, Ms J Irish-Qhobosheane
Ladies and gentlemen

The Constitution of our country guarantees every person the right to life and the right to security, which includes among other things, the right to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources. The Constitution further guarantees that adequate protection of such rights is fundamental to the well-being, social and economic development of every person.

As government we commit ourselves to fighting crime in whatever form it manifest itself in our society, including farm killings. We have placed the issue of rural development high on the agenda and view the safety and security of the rural community in South Africa as a priority. This priority therefore needs to find concrete expression in our policing strategies and we need to ensure that our programmes speak adequately to this important issue.

Equally we are aware that some crime syndicates operate in rural areas, harassing and undermining the safety of communities. In particular, farmers, farm workers and residents within rural communities are considered soft targets of such criminals.

Between 1997 and 2007 there were 1248 murders on farms, both involving farmers and farm workers. However it needs to be noted that a docket analysis done in 2003 indicated that the majority of these murders which occurred between 1997 and 2003, did not actually involve farmers themselves and the victims of these murders were actually farm workers or people visiting farm workers.

Government remains committed to dealing to dealing with all rural crime including murders committed on farms. It is also important that farmers themselves also take steps to address vulnerabilities that have impacted on farm killings.

While these killings are worrying and we will never rest until culprits are brought to book, it is important to also focus on some of the issues which may be contributing to these killings. Our investigations have amongst others pointed out to the issue of labour relations having contributed to these killings. There had been empirical evidence that some farmers, not the majority, hire workers from other foreign countries without proper paper documentations.

While at times government has no control in terms of working conditions and agreements privately entered into between the farmers and these vulnerable workers, it is an area that farmers themselves need to seriously address. If by any chance a murder has been committed on these farms, police question each and every person in the vicinity of the murder scene. It is through such investigations that we discover many of these foreigners who have been working on these farms for many years, without proper documentations.

That is precisely why the practice by some farmers, not all of them, of using illegal labourers coming from neighbouring countries as a means of averting compliance with labour laws and responsibilities needs to be addressed. Not only does this practice make it difficult to track and trace perpetrators but also in some instances the practice could be considered human trafficking.

We also appeal to trade union representatives as well as political parties not to politicise these farm killings unnecessarily. They have an important role in helping government fight and reduce these killings, as a start by rooting out those workers without proper documentation. By shielding such illegal labourers, these unions may be unwittingly being seen to be supporting such labourers into committing crime. To us this is crime. We do not see it as racist onslaughts or politically motivated acts.

Our presence today and in fact we hope for more of such engagements in future, are the beginning of ensuring we address this issue together. We cannot sit on separate sides of the fence and point fingers at each other. The seriousness of continued acts of violence against the rural community requires us to formulate a comprehensive and holistic strategy to support the creation of a safe rural environment.

We do so as government because besides ensuring that each and every farmer and farm worker is protected against criminal elements, we further recognise that both farmers and farm workers are valuable assets in the economic development and agricultural prosperity of our country. The two (farmers and workers) should not be seen as opposing sides but as complementing each other towards the growth of the country's agricultural programmes.

While there may exist a divide in class between the two, through a concerted effort there is also an opportunity to succeed together. Without this important sector, South Africa would not achieve the kind of development it has achieved over the years, hence we will endeavour to ensure you receive the necessary protection so that food security for our nation is not jeopardised.

In addressing rural safety we also need to take into account crimes which are social in nature. According to a docket analysis conducted by the South African Police Service (SAPS), 75 percent of all crime incidents are social in nature and many are related to liquor abuse and domestic violence. These social crimes also require serious attention and that is why we believe that by partnering with society, we will defeat this scourge.

Stock theft is another area identified which requires more concerted effort and attention by police. Stock theft affects all farming communities whether they are large commercial farmers, small black subsistence farmers or up and coming emerging farmers.

The economic impact of this form of crime cannot be underestimated. That is why as the Ministry we have now revitalised and rejuvenated our stock theft units to be able to respond effectively to this form of crime. As part of this approach we need to ensure both the responsiveness and integrity of these units are adequate and capacitated with the right personnel. At the same time we need to ensure that that these units are able to work in partnership, not only with rural communities but with other government structures.

We also need to highlight that as the Ministry we are currently reviewing our rural safety plan, which gives impetus our prioritisation of rural areas and rural development. The revised plan is nearing finalisation and some of the key aspects within this plan include:

* To improve and enhance the service delivery at a local station level. We have recognised that rural police stations are often isolated and responsible to police vast areas. To address these problems we need to not only create more effective and efficient police stations but also ensure that the local police work in partnership with both rural communities and other government departments responsible for rural development.

* To increase and improve police visibility in rural areas and to increase the response times of police. We need to adopt and ensure a responsive integrated proactive and reactive policing approach to policing of rural areas. At the end of 2009 the moratorium on the recruitment of reservists was lifted and the department is currently finalising its revised approach to address the use of reservists within the Force. Our rural safety plan will also find ways of best to utilising reservists' capacity in rural areas.

* To improve and enhance relationships between the police, farming community, stakeholders and extended rural communities. We have looked closely at the role of sector policing in rural areas and are ready to roll out the implementation of sector policing in the rural environment. These partnerships will also seek to establish enhanced communication within rural communities and among all role players.

* To improve safety awareness in rural areas and educate rural communities on safety and security matters. Infrastructural development within the rural environment is essential to ensure equal accessibility to services and service delivery. Our rural safety plan will also support rural development through the implementation of sustainable safety plan.

* In addressing crime generally we have highlighted the need to improve both our intelligence and investigative capacity and this includes our abilities in this regard related to rural crimes. We must ensure that in rural areas proper investigation of all cases reported and closer cooperation with prosecuting authorities. In supporting both our crime investigations and our crime prevention we also need to improve our crime intelligence and analysis in rural area.

Our rural safety plan also needs to address vulnerable sectors of rural communities including, women, children, elderly, disabled and even immigrants.

Our aim is to ensure that we develop a rural safety strategy that not only respond to the safety and security needs of the rural community within South Africa but also ensure an effective and sustainable policing approach. We would like to encourage all stakeholders within the rural safety sector to work together in a properly coordinated and integrated manner and engage at all levels in our planning and implementation of this strategy.

We are therefore pleased to be engaging with you this morning in such an open dialogue concerning safety issues in our farms. As the ministry, we have over the last few months engaged with a number of stakeholders and role-players to discuss their participation and support in fight against crime. The results are beginning to yield positive outcomes.

We would therefore like to continue the engagement started today and take the opportunity to take forward today's discussions in a more concrete manner. We hold a firm and realistic view that rural safety will be achieved through a collective, coordinated approach and engagement.

It is indeed a responsibility of every South African to assist government in our endeavours to create a safe environment for all.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Police, March 8 2010

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