Robbery of Dutch tourists: Action taken by minister of police is too little too late

26 September 2017

The Minister of Police, Fikile Mbalula, paying a visit to the 38 Dutch tourists that were robbed on Sunday in Fourways, Johannesburg, was the right thing to do but alas it was too little too late, says Dr Pieter Groenewald, leader of the FF Plus.

According to Dr Groenewald, the robbery was bad publicity for South Africa and it did not only damage the country’s tourism industry, but also the economy as well as South Africa’s reputation abroad.

“The disorder in the police’s top management, caused by the fact that permanent appointments are not made for chief positions and that anti-crime structures are being misused by the government for political gain, has resulted in us having to reap bitter fruit, such as this incident.

“I suspect that we will see an increase in these kinds of robberies. It will certainly have a negative effect on South Africa’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup as tourists will not want to visit the country because the disadvantage of a high crime rate will outweigh the advantage of a favourable exchange rate.

“If the Minister is serious about taking action, he must cleanse the police force of all the corrupt elements like he promised he would and he must permanently appoint experienced and skilled members of police in top management positions in order to get the police force back on track so they can effectively fight crime.

“As long as this does not happen, crime in South Africa will increase and it will do even more damage to our country,” says Dr Groenewald.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 26 September 2017