Crime in South Africa

It was this morning on SABC 2 that a visitor to South Africa, on a short visit to watch the soccer, wrote in to share his tale of woe. Apparently followed from the O.R. Thambo airport, the thugs it seems cleaned him out of everything except his passport, as I write he is busy making tracks to return home, defeated by our Governments inability to keep crime under control, seemingly unable to protect visitors and residents alike. It is unlikely we will see him, his friends, family or their money ever again. He will forever remain a walking advertisement for everything we as South Africans should be afraid of.

The press is wall to wall with coverage of the current soccer competition, our readiness to host and welcome those planning to visit our shores and travel around during the 2010 FIFA soccer world cup, seeking beds, beers, accommodation. At the same time however, what space is still available includes coverage on our inability to process DNA samples; the disbanding of the Scorpions; the theft from the Egyptian soccer team from their Hotel; the triple rape we are all so shocked or stunned about that we are speechless; our own Mayor; The school administrator who stole thousands and many other stories. Stop, let’s take a view from a different angle.

Tourism in and around South Africa is already a major industry, a large employer offering jobs to thousands of South Africans, traditional tourism, internet sites such as www.staysa.co.za and others, there is a correlation here, the less the crime levels, the more beds will be booked by local and international travellers, the more the industry will prosper and the more jobs will be created. Anyone who has ever travelled internationally can only agree that we are sitting on the new gold. South Africa simply has to be the best kept tourism secret in the world, at a local level this also applies to the Eastern Cape, a region that even the local South Africa tourists have still to discover. I won’t go an about how great this country is, we all know that, we live here, what we, or our leaders, simply do not appreciate is that if we can fix this crime situation, bring it down to at the very least to a level comparable to international norms, we will bear witness to the growth of a relatively undiscovered income stream, if benefit to each and every one of us irrespective of our personal profession or career.

Here’s the rub, talk is cheap, a whole industry exists, indirectly created by Government consisting of car guards, honest and dishonest guards and guarding services; privately employed installation and monitoring businesses, security companies; armed response units; security and bank escort services; camera monitoring systems and many others. At airports we have guards guarding the guards who guard the employees from stealing from their customers, amazing but true, and yes, each and every one of us pay dearly for this, in our bank charges, airport taxes, flight tickets, property rentals and insurance premiums. Oh, I hear you say, in a similar fashion as those who justify littering, many thousands now have jobs who didn’t before. What nonsense, if organised business did not have to incur all these unnatural security costs, they would have more funds to develop and expand their businesses and to employ more people in their sphere if expertise rather than to waste it on non-core or non-essential expenses.

A pipe dream one would call it, crime will never disappear. Let us face this reality, but it would certainly be lowered if we had a police force that was well equipped, well trained and sufficient in numbers and resources to respond and operate within the above mentioned norms. It was just two weeks ago that a friend was robbed in Bunkers Hill, the police response was almost non-existent, when the forensic unit arrived to check the fingerprints and match these against an identified suspect, he was told that due to the three day delay, the prints outside were unusable. The many stories similar to this show a clear pattern, that of our leaders inability or unwillingness to make a meaningful contribution to the reduction of crime and their inability to accept that economic growth, for the benefit of all needs a sound foundation to spring from. 2010 offers us all an incredible opportunity, second to none that we have ever experienced or even imagined, to our civic and political leaders at all levels, we gave you the mandate to build such a foundation.

YOUR INPUT IS CRITICAL…….. Please send any travel tip or travel idea to info@staysa.co.za  help fellow travellers to enjoy safe and happy travelling. We will gladly assist with travel information or visit the site at www.staysa.co.za where you will find comprehensive travel and accommodation information

 Alan Hawkins - CEO