Government is openly acknowledging that crime has gotten completely out of hand.
It was one of the many social challenges that President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted when he addressed residents of Mangaung in the Free State.
“We will get this country right,” was his promise to those attending his presidential imbizo on Saturday.
By saying that, he was also admitting that things have been going terribly wrong for too long, causing ongoing suffering for millions of South Africans and that action is long overdue.
The recent quarterly crime stats was a further eye opener to how far away we are from being on the right track as a country.
Nearly 1 000 women killed in three months, a 23% increase in child murders and more than a million house burglaries, most of them in the Western Cape, to name just a few.
It’s almost as if the criminals know that the SAPS is severely under-staffed and are taking full advantage of that fact.
To the extent that we have seen an increase in criminal gangs brazen enough to charge and attack officers inside police stations.
So it was very encouraging when Police Minister Bheke Cele addressed the same gathering to announce a big boost to the rank and file of our police service, in the form of 15 000 new recruits by the middle of next year.
He says 10 000 of them are being trained right now and will pass out by the end of 2022 and be dispatched to various police stations all over the country.
This is of course very good news, but even he admits that it is still not enough, as the SAPS will need more members and more resources if they hope to reverse the apparent lawlessness that is currently sweeping the country.
He passed that buck back to Ramaphosa and our finance minister, saying that he will soon be asking for more budget to do just that.
The training of new officers addresses yet another challenge we are facing as a nation; the fact that we are sitting with a staggering and debilitating 34% unemployment rate.
Yes, we simply have to get this country right, Mr President.
Absolutely everything depends on it; economic growth and prosperity, social harmony, communal aspirations, our individual sanity and yes, even the re-election hopes of your ruling party.
This is no longer a legacy or altruistic project of choice.
Turning things around is now critical and in the best interest of everyone and everything.
You asked for community support to help you achieve this.
The communities are at the coalface of all these challenges and we have had enough.
We are ready to play our part.
We just need you to gather the right, incorruptible team around you and lead the way.
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body.copy.three...: ACT NOW: Nearly 1000 women killed in South Africa in 3 months
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