Democratic Alliance (DA) Chief Whip Douglas Gibson on Thursday asked National Assembly Speaker Frene Ginwala to grant a special debate on the spiralling levels of crime in South Africa.
In a letter to Ginwala, Gibson said: ”You will be aware from the media that there is an extreme anger and indignation on the part of the public on the crime situation in our country.
”In particular, the ghastly murders of Claudine Arnolds, aged 10, of Witlokasie, an informal settlement near Knysna, and one-year-old Kayla Rawstone of Pretoria, have elicited a furious and anguished reaction from the public,” he said.
It was appropriate for Parliament to be concerned about a matter that affected the population generally, and Parliament needed to address the perception that crime had spiralled out of control in some areas.
The matter was so important, it justified reconvening the Assembly for plenaries before the scheduled date early in September.
”In my view, the level of public concern justifies this action,” Gibson said.
In another statement on Thursday, New National Party spokesperson Johnny Schippers referred to the burglaries this week in the ministerial residential complex in Pretoria.
”It is clear that criminals do not even fear the protection that members of cabinet have.
”This is further proof that crime in South Africa is out of control,” he said.
One of the main reasons was that criminals knew they had a good chance of getting away with it.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel — one of those burgled while he slept in his Bryntirion Estate home — should remember this when he considered next year’s safety and security budget.
”Ordinary South Africans are of the opinion that it is high time that political leaders know how it feels to be subjected daily to South Africa’s crime wave,” Schippers said. – Sapa