Litany of lies shows lack of respect for the people

Our 2004 Election Manifesto, entitled 'A People's Contract to Create Work and Fight Poverty', includes our Vision 2014, projecting into the future of our country to the end of the Second Decade of Freedom.

In terms of that Vision, we say: "Guided by the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), our vision is to build a society that is truly united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic. Central to this is a single and integrated economy that benefits all.

"The combination of some of the most important targets and objectives making up Vision 2014 are as follows:

• Reduce unemployment by half;
• Reduce poverty by half;
• Provide the skills required by the economy;
• Ensure that all South Africans are fully able to exercise their constitutional rights and enjoy the full dignity of freedom;
• Compassionate government service to the people;
• Massively reduce cases of TB, diabetes, malnutrition and maternal deaths, and turn the tide against HIV and AIDS, and working with the rest of Southern Africa, strive to eliminate malaria;
• Significantly reduce the number of serious and priority crimes as well as cases awaiting trial; and,
• Position South Africa strategically as an effective force in global relations."

During the First Decade of Liberation, we paid the necessary attention to the elaboration of the policies we require to achieve these objectives. These policies have also been translated into legislation in instances where such legislation was required.

The 2002 ANC Policy Conference that preceded our 51st National Conference reviewed our policies within the context of the pursuit of the goals of the RDP. It came to the conclusion that, in the main, we had put in place the policies our country needs to overcome the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, and create a united, non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous and democratic South Africa.

Our Stellenbosch 51st National Conference confirmed this assessment and view. It drew attention to the central importance of ensuring that we implement our policies in a manner that produces the kind of South Africa we, together with the masses of our people, visualise.

When we opened the last session of the Second Democratic Parliament in February this year, the last during our First Decade of Freedom, we restated this view, based on a detailed review of what we had done during the first ten years of liberation.

Specifically we said: "We would like to restate this matter unequivocally that the policies we required to translate what President Mandela said in May 1994 are firmly in place. Accordingly, we do not foresee that there will be any need for new and major policy initiatives. The task we will all face during the decade ahead will be to ensure vigorous implementation of these policies, to create the winning people-centred society of which Nelson Mandela spoke. We already have the policies and programmes that will enable us to translate all (our) strategic objectives into a material factor in achieving the goals of the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfilment, and the continuous extension of the frontiers of the freedom of which Nelson Mandela spoke a decade ago."

The policies and programmes we were speaking of are not a mere wish list of what we would like to see. They exist in concrete form, taking into account where we are today. They are therefore designed within the context of the resources we will be able to generate to ensure that the peoples' hopes are transformed into reality. In other words, they are not a "thumb suck", optimistic promises that are not based on what our country can do practically.

Those who define themselves as our opponents, whose stated goal during the April Elections is to gain more votes so that they become a stronger opposition to the ANC, have also put their own policies on the table. These are the political parties that refuse to become part of the People's Contract to Create Work and Fight Poverty, determined to oppose the united action of the people of South Africa to build a better life for all.

The policies some of them advance are nothing more than mere wish lists intended to project these parties as organisations that are concerned to improve the lives of our people. The reality is that if ever these were implemented, they would impose a financial burden that would plunge our economy into crisis.

Members of the ANC Economic Transformation Commission (ETC) have, for instance, examined some of the manifesto proposals made by the DA. These include a basic income grant, the abolition of certain taxes, corporate deductions for new employees, and the so-called opportunity and bursary vouchers.

The ETC members have established that taken together, these interventions would cost just over R30 billion, or 2,3 percent of the GDP. They would result in a budget deficit amounting to R72 billion, or 5,4 percent of the GDP. Additional interest costs of just these proposals after five years would amount to an additional R16 billion annually.

All this would necessitate ever more borrowing, increasing the debt burden on the country and future generations, or increased taxes that would take away more of the peoples' earnings and discourage higher levels of investment, economic growth and development.

From all this, it is perfectly obvious that the promises made by the DA are far removed from reality and anything that can actually be done without driving the economy into a serious crisis.

For this reason, the DA is unable to tell the electorate honestly how it proposes to fund its promises, in a manner that would not create enormous economic problems. It cannot tell the truth in this regard because this would expose its manifesto as being nothing more than a set of empty promises. Accordingly, it finds that the truth does not serve its interests and therefore does not want the truth to be known.

We for our part have said "we already have the policies and programmes that will enable us to translate all (our) strategic objectives into a material factor in achieving the goals of the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfilment, and the continuous extension of the frontiers of the freedom."

We have the policies and programmes to achieve the objectives stated in Vision 2014. These have been properly costed, taking into account the current and projected performance of our economy and other relevant factors. Together, these objectives constitute a balanced package of measures that will be implemented in such a manner that they do not produce unforeseen or hidden negative social and economic consequences.

In this regard, we have made certain that we do not project deceitful and populist positions, merely to win votes in the forthcoming elections. Indeed none of those who identify themselves as our opponents, "the opposition", have the possibility successfully to challenge our policies and programmes on the basis of their being unrealistic and impracticable.

Because of this, every other day they cook up one or another issue to add to their armoury of weapons they use to try to weaken the ANC and increase their popularity. In this regard, they do not hesitate to resort to blatant falsehoods.

For example, on 1 March, the DA issued a statement saying "President Mbeki is even considering appointing three deputies during his next term of office in order to settle internal power struggles within the ANC". This was an unadulterated lie.

On 4 March, it repeated the false assertion that the Defence Procurement has been "plagued (with the issue of corruption) since its inception". The truth is that the Auditor General, the Public Protector and the National Director of Public Prosecutions investigated these allegations and found that they have no substance whatsoever. They said as much in the Report they submitted to Parliament.

None of the people who continue to repeat this allegation of corruption, including the DA, has produced even one solitary fact to contradict this Report. Nevertheless, because the propagation of falsehoods is an integral part of the armoury of our opponents, they will not desist from repeating a lie that was nailed a long time ago.

The cases in front of our courts related to the Procurement have absolutely nothing to do with both the processes leading to, and the decision to acquire the defence equipment we need to ensure that we have an effective National Defence Force, as required by our Constitution.

On 7 March, the DA said "President Thabo Mbeki has said that economic growth will not help South Africa to reduce inequality and poverty". This was yet another outright lie. All I had said, which even a high school student would understand, is that economic growth on its own would not solve the problem of unemployment. This is for the simple and obvious reason that the uneducated and unskilled will not find jobs in a growing economy that demands people with skills, such as ours. This is the reason why we are paying close attention to the task of skills and human resource development.

On 8 March, true to its support of the gangs that illegally and unconstitutionally took up arms against the elected Government of Haiti, it issued a statement talking about "the Haiti arms shipment fiasco". Among other things, it made the false claim that this shipment of police materials requested by the Government of Haiti and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), supported by major Western powers, had not been authorised by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee.

On 9 March, the DA issued a xenophobic statement falsely alleging that "the ANC has done away with visa requirements for some 2,9 billion people behind minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi's back". This referred to draft Immigration Regulations that Minister Buthelezi had distributed to all Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers to facilitate their discussion.

The issue of these Regulations is now subject to judicial processes and is therefore sub judice. The truth however is that the Cabinet constituted a Ministerial sub-committee, convened by Buthelezi, to consider these Regulations. This process has not been completed. However the DA is not interested in the truth. It therefore trumpets falsehoods about this issue, including the naked lie that everything is being done "behind minister Buthelezi's back".

On 11 March, the DA leader echoed the fabrication that the SAPS would not hire Coloured police officers in the Western Cape, citing what he described as a Solidarity Report. Western Cape Community Safety MEC, Leonard Ramatlakane, rejected this falsehood and said "I appeal to Leon not to mislead the people of Atlantis and of Mitchell's Plain by playing the race card".

Trying to extract as much propaganda value as he could from a lie, and adding another lie, Leon said: "This document proves that sometimes brown or coloured people are counted in when it comes to employment equity and affirmative action, but more times than not they are counted out."

The DA even decided to lash out beyond the ANC, desperate to win votes at any cost. It claimed that a person appearing in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court charged with the unlawful possession of three Identity Documents was the daughter of the Chairperson of the IEC, Dr Brigalia Bam. This particular lie had very short legs, forcing the DA to apologise to Dr Bam, admitting that it had lied.

We can of course cite other lies told by the DA. Undoubtedly it will manufacture new ones in the weeks ahead, unable to market itself on the basis of the policy options it has proposed. But naturally, it will do its best to try to project itself as a party of integrity and probity.

For this reason, it has dredged up remarks made by Premier N.J. Mahlangu many years ago, claiming that the Premier said it was permissible for politicians to lie. But even in this regard, it finds it impossible to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The matter at issue relates to a statement made by Mahlangu in 1999, reported in one newspaper under the headline "Lying OK in politics says premier".

In his Finding, the Public Protector said "I also find that he has been misquoted in general as saying that it is in order ("OK") for politicians to lie, when in fact he did state that: "I am not saying that it is correct."

However, the Public Protector went on to say: "However, Mr Mahlangu went further and stated, with reference to Pres. Bill Clinton, that 'the circumstances of denial are important. It matters what causes a person to deny. I am not sure whether it was frustration if a person feels I must admit what I have done, and he admits. I don't find it to be a very bad thing.' "

The Public Protector objected to this latter statement, for which the Premier had apologised. In his Report, the Public Protector said "Mr Mahlangu also emphasised during our meeting that it is in fact completely unacceptable to him that a person should lie and that he pertinently stated his conviction in this regard at the media conference."

Undoubtedly the DA has access to the Public Protector's Report. However, it knows that if it told the truth about what this Report says, it would deny itself the opportunity to pretend that all that an ANC Premier said was that it was in order for politicians to lie.

Premier Mahlangu apologised for the wrong statement he made, that he did not find it "a very bad thing" for people to tell a lie and later correct this. I suspect that our country and people will never see the DA demonstrate its respect for them, by apologising for the litany of lies it produces, as it tries in desperation to win a few extra votes.

Fighting crime

Working together we can build safer communities

Work done over the last ten years shows that crime can be beaten if South Africans continue to work together to reduce criminal activity and build safer communities.

Among the many effects of the system of apartheid, poverty, social dislocation and systematic violence helped create conditions for the growth of crime. In the dying years of the apartheid state, while the security forces were engaged in a last stand battle against the democratic movement, criminal syndicates gained a foothold in the country and cross-border crime grew significantly.

It was into these conditions that the new South Africa Police Service (SAPS) stepped in 1994, following the amalgamation of the 11 independent police agencies that had existed before the nation's transition to democracy.

This was not only a massive logistical exercise; it also required a fundamental change in organisational culture and in the way the security services were viewed by the people. As justice minister Penuell Maduna noted in a media briefing earlier this year: "Just over ten years ago, we feared the very people who in normal society would have been responsible for protecting us."

Until 1994, law enforcement institutions had served to maintain and enforce apartheid. Now they were tasked with providing impartial, transparent and accountable policing that upheld and protected the rights of all people. The overwhelming priority of law enforcement was to create legitimacy for its institutions. The structure and functioning of the then policing agencies had to be transformed to respect the Bill of Rights and to ensure greater accountability in terms of the law and to the community at large.

Policing priorities

As it set about the process of transformation and to focus on the crimes most prevalent in society, the Department for Safety and Security has set four key strategic priorities for the medium term. The first of these is to combat organised crime, and to focus on crimes relating to drug and firearm trafficking, vehicle theft and hijacking, organised commercial crime and corruption among public officials.

The second is to combat serious and violent crime. The department has developed strategies to counter the proliferation of firearms, which is fuelling the high levels of violent crime; to improve safety and security in high-crime areas; to combat crimes such as taxi and gang violence and faction fighting; and to maintain security at large public events.

The third priority focuses on strategies to reduce the incidence of crimes committed against women and children and to improve the investigation and prosecution of these crimes. Its fourth priority is to improve service at police stations through implementation of service delivery improvement programmes.

The SAPS has made enormous efforts to reduce levels of serious crime. This has taken place against a backdrop of an increase in some of the factors which create conditions conducive to crime, such as rapid urbanisation, changing social demographics, an increasing number of households and increasing levels of alcohol and drug abuse.

Special focus has been given to crimes such as murder, attempted murder, rape, aggravated robbery and serious assault. As a result of these efforts a number of achievements have been recorded.

Crime levels dropping

Since 1994 the incidence of murder has decreased by a significant by a third. A decrease of 5.7 percent in the occurrence of rape was recorded in 2002/2003. The rape ratio is at its lowest level since the establishment of the South African Police Service in 1994. There was a significant decrease in high profile cases of aggravated robbery. The hijacking of motor vehicles decreased by 20 percent and bank related robberies, which includes cash-in-transit robberies, decreased by 15 percent during 2003/2004. Both these categories of crime reached the lowest levels recorded since 1996/7.

These statistics confirm that far from spiralling out of control, crime levels have largely stabilised and in most instances are being steadily reduced. However, this is probably little comfort for the many South Africans who continue to suffer at the hands of criminals. There is still a great deal of work to do to build a society in which all can feel safe and secure.

This work needs to be done not only in relation to the police service, but also within the other arms of the criminal justice system.

Prior to 1994, the majority of our people placed little trust in the courts. The courts were correctly viewed as nothing more than a support framework for an unjust and indefensible political regime. It is clear that the public's trust in our new Constitution has, over the first 10 years of our democracy, grown and it continues to put its faith in the new legal frameworks that we have been and will continue to put in place.

The amalgamation and integration of 11 departments of justice into one has now been fully completed. The Constitutional Court has been established, and its new permanent premises will be opened this weekend, on Human Rights Day. The court has been a guiding light for our democracy through its judgements on human rights issues.

Significant progress has also been made in the transformation of the judiciary. When the post-apartheid government came to office in May 1994, there was only one black male judge and two white female judges in the Republic of South Africa. The judiciary now boasts eight black judge presidents, 76 black and 23 female judges out of a total of 204. Of 1,662 magistrates, 794 are black and 428 are women. This has been achieved through the application of a rigorous appointments procedure conducted by and under the auspices of the Judicial Service Commission.

Court productivity is improving year by year, with progress being recorded in the conviction rate, case preparation time and a lower number of cases on the court rolls ready for prosecution.

At the same media briefing, Maduna said: "Our vision is to provide a responsive, modern and cost effective court service that allows us to dispense justice efficiently and fairly. To realise this we have in the last nine years, worked hard at addressing problems related to administrative tribulation, postponements and delays in the hearing of cases. The impact of these factors is negative on all court users, but their impact is most keenly felt by the poor and vulnerable members of our society."

As part of government's aim to prioritise and improve services to vulnerable groups, such as women and children, the services rendered by the family courts in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Lebowakgomo and Johannesburg have been improved. Rollout of the project to other districts is planned for the near future.

Sexual Offences Courts cater specifically for the needs of the victims of sexual crimes. To date, 50 fully operational courts have been established and have impacted significantly on lessening the trauma of victims and ensuring the successful prosecution of offenders.

Access to justice for all victims of crime has received a shot in the arm by the introduction of Community Justice Centres, which make legal representation a reality for the poor and disadvantaged. So far, 57 such centres have been established. Thirteen new justice centres and twelve High Court centres are planned for this year.

One of the most important changes to the justice system has been the creation of the National Prosecuting Authority and the establishment of the Directorate of Special Operations (Scorpions). The Office of the NPA boasts tremendous successes in, for instance, the area of organised crime.

The Scorpions pioneered a new approach which combines intelligence, investigation and prosecution. With the its success in high profile cases, public confidence in the organisation's ability to impact on organised crime has grown. The Asset Forfeiture Unit has had a success rate of over 91 percent since 1999. In the last nine months of the last financial year the unit had returned more than R100m to victims of crime and frozen assets valued at R78m in more than 170 cases. The Scorpions have also confiscated drugs worth R1,2-billion.

Systems have been put in place to expose and punish corruption both in government and in the private sector. It is testimony to the success of these systems, and to the ANC's commitment to tackle corruption, that over 80 percent of corruption cases in government reported in the media are actually first uncovered by government itself.

The next five years

Building on the progress made over the last ten years in transforming the criminal justice system and beginning to turn the tide against crime, the ANC is calling on all South Africans to join it in a people's contract over the next five years to build safer communities and ensure clean and accountable government.

The ANC will make the police more effective, by deploying more than 150,000 police in active duty, with more visible policing. We will implement programmes to ensure better training, better management and more effective cooperation between the SAPS and communities.

We will ensure criminals are severely dealt with, by strengthening the prosecution system and agencies like the police and the Scorpions. An important task is to improve coordination between police, prosecutors, magistrates and prison officials, so that criminals, once court, are effectively and efficiently prosecuted and are made to serve out their sentence.

The ANC will continue to work with communities, non-governmental organisations and other sectors of society to tackle the abuse of women and children. We will set up even more special courts to deal with these cases, reducing the trauma of survivors of such abuse and ensuring a greater number of successful convictions. We will also work to ensure that such abuse does not occur in the first place through ongoing awareness programmes and through the empowerment of those in society who are vulnerable to such abuse.

To more effectively combat cross-border crime and reduce the capacity of international criminal syndicates, we will improve the protection of our borders. We will also meet our obligation to South Africans and humanity in the fight against terrorism, and will effectively protect our marine resources.

The ANC will deal effectively with corrupt civil servants and public officials by strengthening existing anti-corruption structures and systems, including whistle-blowing. We will work to stamp out graft in the private sector through the blacklisting of corrupt companies, and the implementation of laws to ensure exposure of, and action against, private sector corruption.

The fight against corruption and maladministration will only succeed if we work with citizens to monitor those who work in government offices; encourage the spirit of Batho Pele; and improve interaction between government and the people through accountable public representatives, one-stop government centres and izimbizo.

More Information:

• ANC 2004 Elections website

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