Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has written to the Department of Community Safety and Liaison MEC Sipho Hlomuka on KZN’s horrific crime statistics being “hidden” to deflect accountability.
KZN community safety and liaison spokesperson Sharon Hoosen said the DA in KZN had written to Hlomuka, calling for urgent answers after an apparent decision not to present the province’s quarterly crime statistics to the public and the media.
“The recent crime statistics – for the period October to December 2022 – released by Police Minister Bheki Cele, show clearly that lawlessness has become the norm in KZN, with a significant year-on-year increase in all contact crime. Yet there is little if any urgency to resolve this,” Hoosen said.
“Equally alarming is the failure to release the crime statistics to the public and the media, as was done before. Instead, this critical information is simply placed on the department’s website and even then they no longer include detailed information on performance per police station.”
Hoosen went on to say that it is clear that the ANC-run government was too embarrassed to present its performance to the public. This is a result of its shocking failure to keep our citizens safe. The situation is also a clear move to deflect accountability for its ongoing poor performance when it comes to curbing crime.
“KZN is a red zone when it comes to crime, with 17 people murdered every day. It is also the country’s rape capital with 25 rapes reported every single day,” Hoosen said.
She said as MEC, Hlomuka had an obligation to present his department’s performance on a quarterly basis – whether good or bad. To avoid doing so is an indication of his unwillingness to address the seriousness of the situation.
She also said they expected the MEC to take ownership of KZN’s shocking crime levels.
“We expect a detailed plan on measures that he and his department are taking to turn this situation around,” Hoosen said.
“The silence from this ANC-run government is deafening while KZN’s people are under attack daily. The current level of criminality cannot be allowed to grow. Our communities must be kept safe.”
In the letter, dated March 1, Hoosen said the latest release of the Quarterly Crime Statistics (October – December 2022) by the Minister of Police recently, clearly show that lawlessness is becoming the norm in the province. There has been a significant year-on-year increase in ALL contact crimes and there does not appear to be any sense of urgency emanating from the MEC’s office.
The letter read that what was more concerning was that the province had resolved not to release the crime stats to the media (on a quarterly basis) as was usually done for many years. Simply placing this report on the website does not contribute to openness and transparency as the government promised when it occupied office.
“It is our view that the provincial leadership is too embarrassed to present its performance to the public because you are failing in your duty to create a safer environment for our citizens,” the letter read.
“The public has every right to hold you and your office accountable for its performance and needs a detailed plan on the interventions you are taking to work towards safer communities for our citizens.”
The letter also read that since the release of the crime statistics, KZN had:
- 25 rapes per day.
- 17 murders per day.
- 31 cases of sexual offences per day.
- 11 hijackings per day.
“This province continues to hold the record as the rape capital of SA and your silence on these matters is most concerning. It gives the impression that you are operating as ‘business as usual’ while the rest of the province is under attack by criminals daily,” the letter read.
Hoosen concluded by saying: “I am writing to you to request that you review and consider the decision to ‘hide’ the crime statistics away from the province. You have an obligation as the political head of this department, to present the performance of your department on a quarterly basis. To avoid doing so is an indication of your (un)willingness to address the seriousness of crime in our communities.”
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