Sihle Zikalala welcomed attendees to the crime prevention summit. In his words,
“It is an immense honour to participate with all of you at this crucial KwaZulu-Natal Crime Prevention Summit.
On behalf of the Provincial Government and the people of KwaZulu-Natal, we wish to convey our sincere gratitude to everyone who has responded positively to our call by attending the Summit.
We also wish to applaud those who will be facilitating various commissions, and in particular, the various speakers who will be leading in discussions, sharing knowledge and expertise on how KwaZulu-Natal could prevent and reduce crime.
We cannot thank enough our most important guests who are opening their wounds for us to touch and sharing their lived experiences as victims of crime.
One is using “victims” advisedly here to acknowledge that when a crime is committed, there is a perpetrator or an offender while there is also someone who suffers the harm.
Sometimes the victim is a family or an entire community. And so, there can be no doubt that in sharing these unique human experiences, the sufferers are reclaiming their power, their voice, and their agency thereby refusing to be defined by the offender.”
He noted that the Summit is ‘the result of a resolution by the Provincial Government’s Executive Council, which met earlier this year on the 16th to the 18th of February, as stated by other colleagues. We hope that with your help, experience, and skill, we can develop successful crime-fighting solutions while improving collaboration among all stakeholders.
We cannot overemphasize the notion that crime prevention is a society responsibility, not only the job of law enforcement organizations. Crime statistics show that our province and country are experiencing an increase in crime.
This indicates that we have not yet implemented our crime-fighting plan adequately. If we are to succeed in eliminating crime and creating safer, peaceful communities, we must organize ourselves much better and collaborate effectively as various actors. We can’t keep doing the same things and expecting different results after this Summit.’
He explains that women and girls are the major victims of sexual violations. He considered several ways to cub this act. Among his suggested solutions is alcohol consumption control policy, going after crime hot spot, approach violence as a health issue, pay attention to gun control, focused deterrence policy, behavioral intervention programs, eliminate dilapidated housing, etc.
He concluded, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the people of KwaZulu-Natal look to this summit to recommend practical ways and implantable plans to eradicate crime. It is tragic that their freedom continues to be threatened by violent offenders.
We look forward to your recommendations on how we can make crime fighting initiatives like Operation Vala a success. The campaign was affected by COVID-19, but this did not mean that criminals had taken a break at the height of the pandemic and lockdowns.
More than that, this Summit will make recommendations on our programme of action on preventing crime and instilling acceptable social behaviour.
There is no doubt too, that our engagement must help us to improve monitoring and evaluation on the effectiveness of our crime fighting strategies.
If indeed crime fighting is a responsibility we all share as a society, we hope that business will be encouraged to partner with government and communities in crime fighting and crime prevention initiatives and programmes.
This means everybody should be serious about investing in creating a South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal that enjoy peace and security by all, not only those who can afford it.
We wish you well and look forward to receiving your report and recommendations.
Together Growing KwaZulu-Natal!”