CRIME: EXPERTS SAY MBEKI IS OUT OF TOUCH

Good grief! Well I guess no-one may walk into the studio in Auckland Park and start shooting, probably because at the time of the interview Mbeki's bodyguards were all there, but there are reported incidents of residents having an afternoon with friends and being attacked in their own gardens in broad daylight!

What about the fact that Mbeki's own home was compromised by a burgler - I guess if a robber and/or armed attacker can get in there - with all the safety measures that one would assume is around the President of the country, then said robber and/or attacker could get in anywhere.

Is it really possible that Mbeki is not aware of what is going on around him, can his head be so far buried in the sand that he cannot see what is happening.

Perhaps Mbeki is using the same policy that he does on what is happening in Zimbabwe - you know the one? It's the one that goes along the lines of "Let's wait and see what happens!"

Regards
Nikki

Crime: Experts say Mbeki is out of touch
Johannesburg, South Africa

17 Jan 2007 07:17

Crime experts and victims have accused President Thabo Mbeki of being out of touch with reality with his denial that crime was out of hand, Beeld reported on Wednesday. A senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, Johan Burger, said Mbeki's statement showed he was not clued up about the experiences of ordinary people.

In 1998, 25% of respondents said in a poll they did not feel safe going out after dark in their own areas. "In a similar poll in 2004, that figure had jumped to 58% of people who felt unsafe," said Burger.

Mbeki said in a TV interview on Monday it was just a perception that crime was out of control. Most South Africans would agree, he told interviewer Tim Modise. "It's not as if someone will walk here to the TV studio in Auckland Park and get shot," said Mbeki. "That doesn't happen and it won't happen.

Nobody can prove that the majority of the country's 40 million to 50 million citizens think that crime is spinning out of control." Hisham Bhamjee, chairperson of the Brixton community policing forum, comprising Auckland Park, Melville, Rossmore, Mayfair and Crosby, said he advised the area's 55 000 residents to be on the alert and to take precautions. "Personally, I would not walk along Kingsway or Henley road [which flank the SABC building in Auckland Park] at night," said Bhamjee.

Crime figures for the greater Brixton area for 2005 and 2006 show 20 people were murdered, 527 armed robberies with aggravated circumstances were committed, and there were about 680 assaults.

Former Springbok rugby wing Gerrie Germishuys, who was recently attacked at his home in Northcliff, Johannesburg, said: "If the government's armed bodyguards were taken away from them, they would realise how unsafe the country has become." Burger said there were some positive indicators that crime was levelling off, but it had to be appreciated that this was from an extremely high level [of crime].

"If crime is not out of control, it is under control. And, it may be a bit early to say that," he said. "One should not be duped by positive tendencies, because it does not make one any safer." - Sapa