Multi-Party Charter vows to root out crime and corruption

The Multi-Party Charter (MPC), a coalition of different political parties, says it will take over the Government after the general elections in May and make the country safer by combating crime, corruption, and drugs in South Africa.

“Our high crime rate is a symptom of the Government’s failure to detect, prevent, arrest, and prosecute criminals. This failure has created a crisis in which lives are destroyed and lost. This needs to change,” said ActionSA President Herman Mashaba during a Wednesday media briefing in Cape Town.

‘VOTE OUT ANC MULTI-PARTY CHARTER WILL ROOT OUT CRIME’

He says there is an urgent need to vote out the “failed government” led by the ANC and replace it with the MPC government, which Mashaba says can root out all criminal activities and prevent future crime by addressing its root causes. 

“Today the eleven parties in the Multi-Party Charter unveiled a Charter Government’s plan to address one of South Africa most devastating crises, by focusing on four priorities: professionalising the police service, improving the criminal justice system, addressing our nation’s drug problem, and tackling corruption and State capture,” Mashba said.

He added: “We have great respect for our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line, often working under terrible conditions. The source of the problem is the ANC, which controls SAPS and does not provide our policemen and women with the training and resources they need.”

MPC SAYS SAPS IS DYSFUNCTIONAL AND NEEDS CAPABLE PEOPLE

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) Leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said the first step in improving policing in the country was to appoint police leadership on merit and not through cadre deployment.

“The SAPS will only become a functional organisation, able to keep people safe when it is led by capable, experienced, and committed individuals who genuinely care about people’s safety. People who have the skills needed to tackle crime efficiently and effectively,” Hlabisa said.

According to the latest quarterly crime statistics recorded between October and December 2023, serious crimes such as murder and rape are on the rise compared to the stats for the same period in 2022.

MURDER AND ATTEMPTED MURDER INCREASED BY 3.8% AND 9.4% RESPECTIVELY

Murder and attempted murder increased by 3.8% and 9.4%, respectively, in Gauteng in the third quarter, while kidnapping spiked by almost 20%.

According to Eyewitness News, Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said 7,700 people were murdered in South Africa. This is an increase of 155 from the same period in the previous year.

He said that Gauteng was one of only four provinces that managed to decrease crime in at least eight forms, including rape and sexual assault, during the third quarter.