Former South African rugby stars from the national team on Wednesday offered President Thabo Mbeki a hand to tackle the country’s notoriously high crime rate.
An eight-member team of former Springbok players, led by ex-captain Wynand Claassens and wing Jacques Olivier, handed over a letter signed by more than 200 of their colleagues at the president’s office and also requested a meeting with Mbeki.
”We’re offering a lot of positive criticism and we’re offering a lot of solutions,” Olivier told public radio.
”[There are a] lot of businessmen among the ex-Springbok players and we want to discuss it with the president and see if can get some solutions to the crime,” he said.
South Africa, one of the world’s most crime-ridden countries, is desperately seeking to improve its image as a safe destination before it hosts the football World Cup in 2010.
According to the latest crime statistics, cash heists shot up by 74,1% in the 2005/06 financial year compared with the previous 12 months, but murders fell by 2%. — Sapa-AFP