South African President Thabo Mbeki met FirstRand Limited chairperson GT Ferreira, FirstRand Limited CEO Paul Harris and FirstRand Bank CEO Sizwe Nxasana in Pretoria on Tuesday, the Presidency said in a statement.
According to presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga, the group ”apprised the president on their widely publicised media advertisement campaign on crime”.
The multimedia campaign was dropped at the 11th hour, allegedly under pressure from the African National Congress (ANC) government.
In a statement from Ratshitanga, the Presidency said the FirstRand Group ”reiterated its commitment to fighting crime in partnership with established business structures and the government”.
The president expressed his respect for the right of South Africans to express their views without hindrance ”and welcomed the opportunity to engage with the leadership of the FirstRand Group”.
Ratshitanga said the president reiterated government’s commitment to fighting crime in the context of South Africa’s developmental challenges.
He noted that this commitment was expressed, amongst others, in substantial budgetary allocations made to the South African Police Service since 1994.
Rashitanga said the meeting was constructive and underscored both the value and need to deepen dialogue amongst South Africans.
Fight against criminals not lost
Meanwhile, no one should say that the fight against criminals is lost, South Africa’s Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Tuesday.
During question time in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and in response to a question from an ANC MP about the perception that crime was out of control, the minister said: ”If we say so … we say we don’t have a Constitution.”
That was a vehicle that should be used to deal with crime, he suggested.
He added that if one said South Africa had lost the battle against crime then one was saying ”we don’t have constitutional structures like this house [the NCOP]”.
In reply to Democratic Alliance MP Juanita Terblanche, who asked whether criminals cared about the Constitution, the minister said: ”We [MPs] are in this house to uphold the Constitution. Those who are violating [the Constitution] are our enemies.”
”How can we walk about and say that they [the criminals] are winning the fight?” asked the minister.
He pointed to the good work done by MPs — particularly Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille — through participating in police patrols in their neighbourhoods. — I-Net Bridge