Good morning bloggers and welcome on this glorious Friday 13th. For the record, I am not one of those people who stay in bed on Friday 13th for fear of what might happen - except for - well . . . it would depend on who is in there with me! Ha-Ha!
Ok, now on a serious note! Why wouldn't anyone NOT report crime and corruption. I suppose some would not report it for fear of reprisal and so on. The bottom line is that you want to live "in fear" for the rest of your life, that is what will happen - you will be intimidated, you will be harrassed by thugs and muggers, it is after all the choice that you have made.
So, take the bull by the horns so to speak, stand up for yourself and your fellow citzens. By reporting crime and/or corruption you are telling those that perpetrate these crimes that it is not acceptable and that you will do something about it. If we all did this and (please God, whomever you perceive him to be) the authorities act accordingly, crime and corruption will begin to go in reverse and we will make inroads, hopefully in making it disappear altogether.
Hope you all have a fantabulously great Friday 13th!
Report attacks SA crime and corruption
29 January 2007 07:26
African governments have warned South Africa that growing corruption, rampant violent crime and xenophobia are undermining confidence in the continent's largest economy and threaten the stability of post-apartheid democracy.
The African Union was expected to hand a report on good governance to President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday night that contains wide-ranging criticisms, from the handling of the HIV/Aids crisis to the continued vast poverty gap. Critics also accuse the South African government of watering down the "peer review" -- under which countries rate each other's performance and offer advice on improvements -- by insisting on "editing" the final report.
The report says that because of "creeping corruption" and conflicts of interest proliferating in public life, South Africans "feel betrayed, regarding corruption as a negation of democratic gains after a long period of struggle". A poll released at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week showed that 63% of South Africans think their leaders are dishonest.
The perception of growing corruption, and official tolerance of it, has been fuelled by high-profile cases such as that of Tony Yengeni, the former African National Congress (ANC) speaker of Parliament who was jailed for four years for taking bribes from a weapons manufacturer but released this year after only four months in prison. He was greeted like a hero by ANC leaders.
In another case, South Africa's police chief, Jackie Selebi, is under investigation; he maintained a close friendship with an organised crime boss arrested over the murder of a corrupt mining magnate. The government has also been embarrassed by a swirl of corruption investigations focusing on the controversial £4-billion weapons deal with western arms makers, including an inquiry by British police into BAE's sale of aircraft to South Africa.
The AU report noted that concerns were raised not only about large-scale graft but also corruption in everyday life, such as the provision of housing. It also warns that crime, particularly against women and children, is undermining South African democracy despite an assertion by Mbeki earlier this month that people do not believe it is out of control. The government says there has been a 10% fall in the numbers of serious crimes since the introduction of democracy in 1994. But with murders still running at more than 18 000 a year, or about 50 a day, one survey showed that nearly 60% of South Africans feel unsafe leaving their homes after dark.
The scale of the killings again drew attention at the weekend with the murder of the prominent historian David Rattray, who was shot dead at his home in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Earlier this month, Mbeki told the South African Broadcasting Corporation that fears of crime are exaggerated. "It's not as if someone will walk here to the TV studio in Auckland Park [Johannesburg] and get shot," he said. "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."
One of South Africa's best-known journalists, Max de Preez, told Mbeki his daughter was shot just 100m from the studios during a carjacking. Community leaders near the studios said crime figures show 20 people were murdered in the area last year.
The AU report said the rise in crime is increasingly blamed on foreigners, which in turn spawns xenophobia and more attacks. Nigerians, Zimbabweans and Mozambicans in particular are blamed for drug dealing, armed robberies and burglary. Foreigners are also accused of taking jobs; Somali traders were attacked in Cape Town recently by rival South Africans.The AU calls on the government to "deal systematically, deliberately and effectively with the lingering vestiges of racism" and better ways to end xenophobia. The government said it will wait until the report is released before responding.
At a glance
Corruption
The prosecution of leading politicians for corruption, the increasingly common demand for bribes by the police, and the massive wealth accumulated by some of those who wield power in post-apartheid South Africa have generated a growing public perception that graft and the abuse of office are increasingly widespread.
Crime
South Africa has the world's second-highest murder rate with about 50 people a day being killed. Although serious crime is falling, security analysts say the use of violence in robberies, and rape, are more common.
Xenophobia
Growing hostility towards people from other parts of Africa (although not white immigrants) who are blamed for rising crime and unemployment. Attacks are increasingly common. -
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
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