STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER

DR B.SIBUSISO DLAMINI

AT THE TURN BACK CRIME CAMPAIGN LAUNCH MANZINI REGION

AT MAVUSO INTERNATIONAL TRADE CENTRE, MANZINI

 

WEDNESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2015

 

Your Royal Highnesses

Chiefs

Honourable Ministers

National Commissioner of Police

Regional Administrator

Officers of the Royal Swaziland Police Service

Distinguished Guests

Representatives of the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my honour, as Minister for Police, to officiate at today’s launch of the Turn Back Crime Campaign in the Manzini Region.

This is the fourth and final launch in a campaign that has now covered all four regions. It is being conducted in the SMART Partnership format, that being a style of consultation and collaboration that we have built into our national dialogue framework. In an egalitarian setting this form of dialogue aims to achieve a win win – that is achievement all round, as opposed to the zero sum scenario where the gain by one person or group is the result of someone else’s loss.

Today the subject is crime and this Dialogue focuses on the development of an understanding of how the people and communities of this region can help to turn back crime.

What I believe is very important to emphasise is that, in the first instance, discussion is an excellent means of communication – sharing information and ideas, and motivating each other into a firm commitment. But they need to go further. On the Police side we can commit to synthesising all the views and suggestions from the four regional events, producing a report and using that as the basis for the agenda in next year’s National Crime Symposium. And, as the saying goes – action speaks louder then words. There must be implementation of the measures then agreed upon, with all participants having the opportunity to monitor progress.

 

At this point, I believe it is helpful to mention issues that have arisen in the earlier dialogues.

 

All of the regions accepted the need to heighten levels of co-operation between the community and the Police, especially in sharing information on issues of crime relating to their own areas. Prevention and detection of crime cannot be left to the Police alone. Help by individuals and communities, in the pro-active sense of being vigilant and taking responsibility for reporting what has been observed, are best captured in the national mantras: “Bucala Yindzaba Yetfu Sonkhe (Crime is a concern for all of us) and “Nawe uliPhoyisa” (All citizens are policemen).

 

What also emerged from the dialogues was the view that the Bailable Offences Order needs a review especially for certain serious crimes, since suspects are being seen to commit crime while on bail. The need for stiffer sentences for certain crimes has also emerged as a view shared by many – a situation that would call for some legislative review.

All constructive comments are welcomed, including those that seek to address perceived shortcomings in the Police Service. We have received suggestions for an enhanced capacity of Police response systems for Police, through training and resource capacitation, together with higher visibility policing, through motorised and foot patrols in urban and rural areas, as well as in crime prone zones. The wish has also been expressed for closer policing services to communities to be achieved through Satellite policing, in line with the Government’s Decentralisation Policy.

Overall we are certainly seeing a desire for vigorous collaboration with the Police to bring down crime. We have heard the views and have been greatly encouraged by the strength of commitment shown.

Permit me now to say a few words about the profile of the Manzini Region. Manzini is, of course, unique, being the national centre of economic activity, with a population of different nationalities and cultures. Matsapha nearby is the Kingdom’s major industrial site and a popular choice of location for investors. On any given day the occupants of Manzini swell to twice the normal number of 80,000, swelled by visitors, transit travellers and even illegal migrants. All these factors present special challenges, especially the resultant urban congestion, which has regrettably seen it acquire the dubious reputation of being the crime capital of the country.

There are, of course, crimes that are specific to the Manzini region. The region is plagued by an influx of illegal immigrants who, owing to the lack of formal status, cannot be absorbed properly and fairly into the business community and, very frequently resort to crime as a means of support, which is a highly unsatisfactory situation. The deportation process being slow and cumbersome, this aggravates the situation, creating a continuous cycle of arrest, release and re-arrest. Government will look into this as a priority in order to find a lasting solution.

We have seen a mushrooming of illegal businesses that purport to be pursuing legitimate activities, but which are merely a front for criminal activity, invariably with a cross-border crime element such as drug and human trafficking, as well as money-laundering. I make a special request to the people of this region to refrain from supporting such entities and, indeed, to report them to the authorities when observed.

Congestion in Manzini has enhanced the criminal capacity of the muggers and pickpockets. Incidence of this kind of person theft reflects badly on our country at a time when we are trying to encourage tourism investment and growth in tourist numbers. I urge the people of Manzini to be extra vigilant but to report such incidents to the proper authorities rather than mete out punishment themselves. There are also stalkers who follow individuals around to rob them later when the time is right. In this regard it is always sensible to desist from carrying a large amount of cash on the person and, instead, move towards electronic transfer methods.

Armed robberies are a recurring feature in the Manzini area and, of course, at the nexus of this crime is the number of illegal firearms which continue find their way into the country. These pose a serious challenge to the country and I urge the Nation to report to the law enforcement agencies those suspected to be in possession of illegal firearms to law enforcement agencies.

We are made aware, usually through the print media, of the activities of confidence tricksters. These people exploit the naivety of ordinary people and dupe them into parting with large sums of money. All schemes that promise to provide a financial return significantly higher than (say) a building society savings account should be treated with scepticism.

Gender-based violence is a prevalent form of criminal behaviour with the highly frustrating characteristic of being swept under the carpet, and leaving the victim, not only without justice, but scarred for life by the abuse and frequently facing a continuation of the activity because no one in a family is challenging it head–on. We have the legislation in place but it still requires boldness. among those who witness it to report it to the authorities.

With or without violence, the sexual abuse of women and children is a criminal activity that haunts the Manzini Region in common with the other three regions. Let us all join hands in consigning this crime to the graveyard. It brings shame to our society and invariably inflicts continuing damage on the woman or girl.

Indeed, violence is generally far more prevalent than is acceptable. In its gratuitous form it generally occurs after heavy consumption of alcohol, which pours combustible fuel on anger and inter-gang rivalry with the obvious outcomes. Most of these murders occur in shebeens and/or bars which highlights that alcohol abuse is a serious problem. Just recently, a fierce fight between criminal groups ensued in Manzini, leading to injury and the loss of life.

I ask you, as Smart Partners with the will and commitment to attend this gathering, to examine and discuss all these forms of criminal activity and come up with strategies and measures that can achieve significant reductions.

And, finally, I ask you to note that this Dialogue is being held at the same time as the Anti-Fraud Awareness Campaign, sponsored by the Bankers Association and its affiliates. This initiative arises from a decision at international level where the banks are alerting the alert the public to banking fraud, mainly relating to ATM fraud, card cloning, and money laundering. As you may have read recently, in the first 10 months of this year over E38 million disappeared in fraudulent bank transactions. We commend the Bankers’ Association for its initiative.

In conclusion I thank the members of the Business Community for providing highly valuable support to this Dialogue and I thank everyone here for organising this highly valuable and participative event.

Thank you.