President Thabo Mbeki should declare war on crime and announce the return of the death penalty when he delivers his state of the nation address this week, New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Sunday.
He said in a statment that with the general election only weeks away, the address seemed certain to be one of the most important and closely analysed speeches since the advent of democracy ten years ago.
Mbeki should go beyond carefully worded election promises and commit government to ”concrete actions that will improve the lives of our people”.
The war on crime should include tougher sentencing and bail conditions, an increased budget for police wages and resources and regular release of crime statistics at station level.
Van Schalkwyk also urged a full review of labour legislation to develop an even more investor-friendly economy, and the scrapping of remaining exchange control regulations.
Mbeki should announce sufficient funding in the 2004/5 Budget to eliminate school fees in the poorest schools, where annual fees amount to R200 or less.
In addition, ways had to be found to speed up the delivery of housing in all provinces.
”We must find ways to cut the mass of bureaucratic red-tape, simplify both the application and approval processes, and create sufficient capacity to address the backlogs,” Van Schalkwyk said. – Sapa