Let's share the positive news regarding the battle against crime, and social upheavels in here.

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Crooks lose R1bn in property to State
November 21 2006

R1-billion. That's the value of property seized from alleged or proven criminals in the past seven years.

Now, after a series of court victories against drug dealers, illegal shebeen owners, drunk drivers and speedsters, the State's Asset Forfeiture Unit is fighting for the right to seize property used to run illegal casinos or enable sexual abuse of children.

In the more than 1 000 cases the AFU has taken to court, many were bought against people never convicted of the crime to which their property was linked. National Prosecuting Authority statistics reveal the AFU has achieved an 85 percent success rate - nearly double its success rate three years ago.

In the past year alone, it has obtained 252 orders to freeze R344-million worth of property of alleged criminals, with R100-million being deposited into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account.

'Unjustifiably deprived'
Although the AFU lost its legal battle to seize the home and car of accused German paedophile Werner Braun - who fled the country before he could be charged with sexually abusing underprivileged girls - it has re-launched its case against him.

Braun was allowed to keep his Somerset West house and luxury car after the AFU's forfeiture application failed on a technicality. But the AFU again sought the seizure of the property in October.

The case was scheduled to be heard in the Cape High Court last week, but postponed until next year.

Should the AFU succeed in its application, accused rapists could be forced to forfeit the cars or homes they used to abuse their victims.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled the unit could seize the property which housed KwaZulu-Natal businessman Kumarnath Mohunram's illegal casino. But he sought the right to appeal the decision and his legal challenge was heard by the Constitutional Court last week.

'Culture of civil morality'
He operated his illegal casino, which housed 57 slot machines, from a business in Vryheid. He ran the casino at a profit of R30 000 a month without a licence.

After being convicted of contravening the Act, Mohunram was fined R88 500 and had all his gambling machines - valued at R285 000 - confiscated. Now he is fighting to keep the premises he used to operate the casino.

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein found the premises were "intimately concerned" with the illegal gambling committed there. It ruled it should thus be forfeited to the State as "the instrumentality of an offence".

But Mohunram's lawyer claimed he was "unjustifiably deprived" of his property and argued that the forfeiture of his business premises was a "disproportionate" punishment for the offences he committed.

It is an argument that has been tried and found wanting in at least half a dozen other major AFU court cases. A number of courts have ruled that the social impact of the crimes committed using forfeited properties more than justified their seizure.

"We are dealing with criminal activity that impacts directly on law-abiding citizens," said AFU head Willie Hofmeyr, "whether they are families struggling with drug-addicted children or commuters facing the threat of drunk or reckless drivers".

The forfeiture of property used to commit crime, or funded by its proceeds, "helps to enhance the freedom and security of communities to reduce crime, to build a culture of civic morality," he said.

"Ultimately, we have one simple message: crime really doesn't pay."

Maybe if I were on Prozac. I think that the crime situation is not a positive thing to write about as it is the epidemic levels of murder and violent crime that has the potential to wreck SA like the rest of Africa is a wreck. Not to mention the fact that agricultural sector is declining because 2,000 commercial farmers have been killed since 1994, about 5% of all commercial farmers in SA. SA has one of the world's highest murder rates in the world. There are at least 20,000 murders in SA every year, a number higher than the USA, which has almost 10 times as many people as SA.

It is probably fair to say that if it were not for the 20,000 SA's economy would be 20% larger than it is today and the poverty rate would be much lower. It is violent crime that has deterred some foreign investors while the tourism sector continues to perform way below potential as especially overseas tourism (from Europe and America) which has grown little in the last five years because many overseas tourists can go to safer destinations like Kenya or Tanzania which do not have the crime and violence that SA currently has.

I agree with you on this point. I can tell you i meet a lot of people who visit Ghana from Europe and US and whenever i tell them i am from SA, they always tell me how they would like to visit SA but what about crime? Its such a head ache as well as a difficult thing to explain to potential tourists. I really think Selebe should be sacked whether or not he has anything to do with the Brett Kebble's murder. How could he be associated with someone who is certainly known as a mafia boss? He must be fired and if there are grounds to support it, charged!!

Did you guys see what I was trying to do here> Focus on the positive and stop freaking with your pessimistic crap. Or else, dont post anything. There are too many bad postings on crime as is.

Mbeki: The rise of SA post-PW
17/11/2006 13:40


Cape Town - If you look at South Africa's economic statistics of 20 years ago - under the apartheid rule of PW Botha - and compare them with today, one will see that South Africa had entered an Age of Hope, argues President Thabo Mbeki.
But he said there were some in the country - although he did not identify them - who expressed views and acted in a manner based on the "entirely unrealistic expectation" that the legacy of "the catastrophic damage visited on the country over centuries could be eradicated in a short time".

Over 20 years South Africa had made "a qualitative break from an Age of Despair".

Writing in his regular online column, ANC Today, he said on Friday that various moments this year had served to remind the nation that in reality "we are not that far removed from the challenging period of the apartheid years, which marked both the apogee and the end of colonialism in our country and continent".

These included the passing away on October 31 of "one of the titans of the apartheid system, PW Botha". Botha ruled the country from 1978 to 1989.

Mbeki noted that 20 years ago on June 17 1986 then apartheid Finance Minister Barend du Plessis had, during the third reading of the Appropriation Bill, reported that the gross domestic product for the first quarter of that year had declined in real terms by 1.5%.

Over 1 million jobs

Private consumer spending had shown a real decrease of 2.5% and private fixed investment had declined 3.5%. For the public sector fixed investment had fallen 40%.

The inflation rate was 20% in January that year but had levelled off to 18.6% in April.

But current Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement this October: "South Africa is experiencing a sustained period of economic growth.

"Sound macroeconomic policy, an expansionary fiscal stance and a supportive international environment have seen growth average 4.2 % over the past four years. Rising consumption expenditure and strong increases in investment in productive capacity have resulted in expanded employment, with the creation of more than one million jobs over the past three years."

Easier circumstances

Mbeki also reported Manuel as saying that gross fixed capital formation has risen from 15% of GDP in 2002, to 18.4% in the first half of 2006.

"It provides a firm platform upon which we can reform our economy to ensure that we broaden opportunities to those still marginalised.

"The budget framework makes provision for increased salaries for certain categories of professions, especially in the health and social welfare sectors. It also makes provision for higher staffing levels in health, police, justice and social welfare."

When Du Plessis spoke in 1986, Mbeki reported that he "was obliged to say" that: "Any Minister of Finance would probably have preferred to rise to his feet in this House under easier circumstances... The situation in which the country finds itself at present is serious enough to justify the proclamation of a state of emergency."

Turning dreams into realities

But Manuel said in October this year: "The solid performance of the economy, in particular the creation of job opportunities and rising household incomes, allows us to turn the dreams of ordinary people into new realities.

"The Medium Term Budget Policy Framework invites this House (the National Assembly), and all South Africans, to embrace the challenges ahead as we prepare for 2010 and as we progressively broaden participation in a growing economy, with confidence in these shared commitments."

Mbeki said the radical divergence between these two pronouncements made the firm statement "that we have made a qualitative break with our past, sufficient for us proudly to affirm that we have left our Age of Despair behind us, and entered our Age of Hope. What remains for all of us to do, together, is to embrace the challenges ahead with confidence."

Maybe if I were on Prozac. I think that the crime situation is not a positive thing to write about as it is the epidemic levels of murder and violent crime that has the potential to wreck SA like the rest of Africa is a wreck. Not to mention the fact that agricultural sector is declining because 2,000 commercial farmers have been killed since 1994, about 5% of all commercial farmers in SA. SA has one of the world's highest murder rates in the world. There are at least 20,000 murders in SA every year, a number higher than the USA, which has almost 10 times as many people as SA.

It is probably fair to say that if it were not for the 20,000 SA's economy would be 20% larger than it is today and the poverty rate would be much lower. It is violent crime that has deterred some foreign investors while the tourism sector continues to perform way below potential as especially overseas tourism (from Europe and America) which has grown little in the last five years because many overseas tourists can go to safer destinations like Kenya or Tanzania which do not have the crime and violence that SA currently has.


And if ordinary south africans were this vocal during Apartheid it would never have survived for so long. So we have crime? You cant dispute the facts. I get irritated when I cant go walk in the park because of fear... But man, we need to look behind the obvious. South Africa was engaged in low-level CIVIL WAR during 1990 - 1994. During the 1980's the government of the day's main mission was to sow animosity between language and ethnic groups - which it succeeded in doing. These animosities remain to this day.

But a lot of positive things are happening. And to complain won't get us too far. But to ignore the facts won't get us far either.

For years now us more priviledged folk have built higher walls, gated our "secure" communities and nurtured our fear of outsiders. This is not a proactive way to deal with crime. You cant fight crime with fear. Your fear (and ignorance, might I add to all that are too romantic) won't protect you.

Look at any other country that went through revolution as we did. In all these cases crime rose significantly. Because an oppressive police state gave way to a weaker democratic one. Look at Russia as an example. Rising crime, growing cynisism, great wealth and poverty, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, drug abuse etc. Does that mean many Russians would choose communism with its oppression and "perceived safety" again? Scary thing, many would. Does that mean communism wasn't as evil? It was! Same with Apartheid.

There are countless opportunities in this country. In May this year a few of my American friends came to visit me in SA. Many of them almost cancelled their trip because they were being filled with fear - from whom? Ex South AFricans living in Georgia!!!

They had the time of their lives, most said it was their best holiday ever. They went on township tours, they went to rural villages (where the locals are just so amazing) and they of course went on safari. This country has a lot to offer. Crime is a reality, and I get pessimistic as well - but we cannot give into it! Thanks for starting this forum thread - hopefully more people will put positives in here, in stead of just blandly remarking that the ship seems to be sinking.

My dad always said: "If you don't feel saddened by the fall of communism, you don't have a heart. If you would like communism to return to Russia, you don't have a brain."

If South Africa had vast quantities of oil, no one would say a peep about crime. Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil - all of these countries also have astronomical levels of crime (it is far more realistic to draw comparisons between ZA and Latin America than ZA and the rest of Africa; socio-economically South Africa is more similar to LatAm) but due to their oil and large consumer markets, people are willing to ignore the crime risk and visit and invest in those countries.

Considering all of the factors stacked against South Africa - geography, history, health and social conditions - I'd say South Africa is doing quite well. If it can manage to keep growing at 4% a year despite a skills shortage, HIV/AIDS, crime and a housing backlog; just imagine what South Africa could do after those issues have been properly addressed.

Mosi-oa-Tunya: you said that foreign tourist arrivals had not grown much in recent years and this was due to crime. In actual fact the number of tourists from the US/UK/Europe has skyrocketed in the last few years and is increasing as we speak (we are one of the fastest growing UK tourist destinations and have more long haul UK tourists who return for a second visit than any other destination). Yes crime is too high but don’t exaggerate it. Secondly the agriculture sector is declining in relation to other sectors but it is still growing year on year it is just that the more value added sectors (such as IT and financial services) are growing faster which is a good thing for the economy. The fact agriculture is less important now than it was 10 years ago is testament to the diversification of our economy and the fact it has got more sophisticated. So unless you know what you are talking about keep quiet!!!

Agriculture is virtually economically irrelevant except in its ability to keep a large number of otherwise unemployable people in work. The SA economy is overwelmingly a developed services-based economy. Its possible that improved performance in efficiency and stability in the Rand may result in increasing industrialisation for quite a few more years. Factories must have improved massively from the hilariously inept factories of the early 90s.

It would be nice not to rely on commodity exports as much as we do - but with the market as hot as it is now, maybe that is not such a problem for the moment.

It would also be much better if we could translate more of our commodities (gold, diamonds......) into value added goods for export, instead of merely exporting the raw product. SA needs to invest more into this sphere or else we are merely being like the rest of the continent and giving our raw wealth to other nations where they make more out of the gold or oil than the host nation

Did any of you guys catch Carte Blanche last night? that oke from Bloem could be the worlds richest man in the next few years, well rich & blody famous.

If you guys didnt check it then this is the plot, this guy from Bleom was hired by a mining company to make a program that will detect diamonds or any resources, so he worked on this program using samples of diamonds & tracing them via GPS, god knows how he intergrated the program to do so, but it worked! Then whilst the Liegh Matthews saga was on, when they announced that they found her body in the feld, he decided to try & see if his invetion could detect humans, so he took a strand of hair from somthing & traced it to its almost exact postion, from then till now he has been helping the SAPS to find missing person & wanted criminals, Carte Blanche also put him through quite a few tests & he came out on top all the time!

I think that could be the invention of the century, maybe the greatest invention of all time!I mean he found diamonds, creud oil, & most importantly he can find humans. At first when I heard the headline I thought it was some bull shit until I saw the interview. This guy could change the world with this invetion.

hey I missed carte blanche but that is awesome news. Imagine the impact on taackling crime if that thing actually can be produced on a large scale?

^^I know, its hectic, it sounds sci-fi but its real! & its in Bloemfontien :crazy:

This can be used to trace the drugs coming to the country. Then we will see Nigerians vanishing from South Africa.

uhm...you're asking for scandal:lol:

Time to throw away the race tag

I take exception to the article written by Thole kaSomdaka regarding white Capetonians ("A cloud of racism hangs over 2010 in city", Cape Argus, November 28).

It seems he has a problem with being black and now tries to lay the blame for sporting inadequacies at the door (once again ) of whites. Same old, same old. Whenever are we going to throw away the race tag and become South Africans?

Firstly, why attack Ryk Neethling for doing his country proud? He did not achieve what he has because he is white, but because he sacrificed and worked very hard. He set goals and set about achieving them.

kaSomdaka then comments about sporting facilities in Gugulethu etc. I wonder whether he has been there. Some of the facilities I have been to in Gugulethu, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and others are comparable to, if not better than, Bothasig and Durbanville. They also receive more funding from the government and sponsorships than clubs in the areas he refers to.

The problem is that the facilities are sometimes badly managed and whites cannot be blamed for that. If the facilities are so bad, then those involved should get off their backsides and do something about it. Get real, Mr kaSomdaka.

It should also be noted that in the '70s and early '80s Cape Town was a soccer-mad city and local teams like Cape Town City and Hellenic enjoyed fanatical support comparable to that enjoyed by English teams. After integration, standards dropped and safety became an issue.

Why should I support Kaiser Chiefs? They are not from my city and I do not identify with them. The standard of soccer in this country is poor and the supporters border on being hooligans.

Why must I, as a white South African, subject myself and my family to this danger?

Yes, we are different, yet we are the same. It is not about black or white, it is about whether those on the field are the best that the country has to offer. I for one will not pay good money to watch a second-rate team representing my country, black or white.

The time has come to stop blaming, but to take a look at what you have done to gain my support. After all, as a white South African I am in the minority. Therefore set the example and the standard should follow. For if you don't, I shall rebuke you with contempt.

Vernon Hendrickse
Edgemead

Published on the web by Cape Argus on December 5, 2006. © Cape Argus 2006. All rights reserved.

Never heard about the Bloem invention but if true, how astounding!!! Could revolutionise crime-fighting here and abroad. In the the meantime, I like this JHB initiative...

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Joburg clean-up targets all crimes

December 06 2006 at 12:34PM

By Anna Cox

Johannesburg is embarking on a clean-up this festive season which will cover everyone from speedsters, drunk drivers, people transporting fake goods, to those who have not paid their taxes or committed serious crimes.

The crackdown will involve large roadblocks, arrests without notification, confiscation of cars, hawker removals and more CCTV cameras being put up to catch criminals.

The Johannesburg Metro Police department will be working with SAPS, EMS, department of community safety, Environmental Health, Liquor Board, Town
Planning, City Power and Eskom until 20 January, 2006 to intensify the fight against crime, traffic and by-law violations. Home Affairs and Receiver of Revenue officials are also involved.

'We will show no mercy'

In addition to the recently installed cameras on the N1, a further 16 CCTV cameras have been installed on the M1 between Empire Road and
Corlett Drive at a cost of R8-million. These will be linked to the inner city control room.

"We will show no mercy. Previously we issued tickets and summonses to appear in court. We are now arresting people and taking their cars,"
said JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar.

New alcohol breathalysers have been introduced which, for the first time, are being accepted by the courts as evidence without the back-up
of a blood sample.

'Crackdown on bylaw offenders'
The JMPD will be using a 22-point roadblock system which means that 22 roadblocks will be set up simultaneously across the city.

"These will be done regularly so there will be no escape for offenders."

If they are not caught in one they will very likely be caught in another," said Minnaar.

Home Affairs and SARS officials will also be assisting at roadblocks to catch illegals and those owing money to the Receiver of Revenue. In the near future, this will also include maintenance dodgers.

On top of that, there will be a crackdown on bylaw offenders.

"We will be focusing on safety and inspecting premises of entertainment venues for fire hazards, food establishments to ensure hygiene, parks to
ensure there is no drinking, fires or noise pollution," Minnaar said.

Pikitup is on board and will be arranging for additional cleaning during the festive season.

City of Johannesburg member of the mayoral committee for Public Safety, Thomas Phakathi said these joint operations would be extended beyond the festive season and turned into a permanent
feature for the city.

The Central Johannesburg Partnership will also be deploying additional precinct guards in the inner city and the public is urged to seek assistance from these distinctively uniformed guards.

http://iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=iol1165398157416J162

Take this all you doomsayers about SA's tourism potential....

----------------------------

'Tourism growth in SA double that of world'

November 29 2006 at 10:52AM

By Dominique Herman

South Africa's growth in the number of international visitors was almost double that of the rest of the world in 2005 and the Western Cape experienced the highest-ever number of tourists in its traditionally off-season, according to the 2005/6 annual report of destination tourism agency Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU).

Globally, international arrivals reached 808 million in 2005, representing a 5,5 percent growth from 766m in 2004.

South Africa attained a 10,3 percent growth rate in international arrivals in 2005 - from 6,7m in 2004 to 7,4m in 2005.

There was a 25,6 percent increase in total foreign direct spend, from R31,4 billion between January and September 2004 to R39,4bn during the same period in 2005, exceeding the global, Africa and regional average growth rates in receipts.

The Western Cape reflected a similarly high 7,43 percent growth rate in international arrivals between January and September 2005. The highest growth, of 13,1 percent, was recorded in the third quarter (July-September).

"Very encouraging was the above average growth (6,37 percent) in international arrivals within the low season months of April-May-June between 2004 and 2005," said outgoing CTRU chief executive Noki Dube.

She added that full annual figures for 2005 were not available yet from SA Tourism, but it was expected that the province would have received about 1,6m international arrivals for the year, attaining 6,9 percent growth over 2004. October, November and December were traditionally high performing months.

CTRU identified potential growth opportunities for the region emerging from the African market - Nigeria and Kenya, in particular. Namibia remained a core African source market. Internationally, India, China and the Middle East were where the new market opportunities lay.

"The major drivers of international arrivals in the Western Cape are different to the national ones. While SA's international arrivals are driven by the region - mainly Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Zimbabwe - the Western Cape international arrivals are driven mainly by the UK, Germany and the US," the annual report said.

The Western Cape achieved R8,9bn in foreign spend in 2004 and was expected to achieve R9,8bn in 2005, representing 10 percent growth. The province's domestic tourism relied heavily on its own residents: 68 percent of the 2,4m trips produced by the Western Cape in that year remained in the province.

CTRU chief operating officer Barry Ackers said at a festive season briefing recently that the domestic market was the backbone of the tourism economy, as it was characterised by more frequent, repeat business.

He attributed the agency's rosy festive outlook to the overall depreciation of the rand since December last year by 20 percent, which would lead to greater international tourism spend and also discourage locals from going overseas.

Airlines were adding international flights to Cape Town over the summer season (from 81 to 107 a week) - particularly British Airways, Lufthansa and Virgin - and there was a SA delegation to the Emirates planned to encourage its airline to apply for a licence to fly into Cape Town, Ackers said.

The tourist season, which spans a six-month period from October to March with most tourists beginning to arrive from December, was expected to generate 2,8m visitors this year - 1,8m of them domestic - he said.

South Africa's medical tourism industry has skyrocketed, with the number of overseas patients drawn by "scalpel safari" packages more than doubling in three years, an expert said.

The booming sector now rakes in $37-million (about R260-million) annually, Martin Kelly, president of the Association for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, said, underlining that this was a fraction of the potential.

Industry estimates predict that about 20 000 medical tourists will visit South Africa in 2006, up from around 8 000 in 2003.


This article was originally published on page 7 of Cape Times on November 27, 2006

http://iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=420&art_id=vn20061127034158632C378033

here here! Imagine what we could achieve if the government forced SAA to give up all its unused airport slots to other airlines? You can’t move in CPT at the moment without bumping into foreign tourists who all seem to be having the time of their lives. I really have to strain to hear a South African accent in camps bay and in Tank the other night the whole place was full of Americans! It reminded me of when I was living in NYC! That is what is so great about cape town: its full of all sorts of people from all over the world having a great time drinking the wine and eating the food and being blown away by the natural beauty of the place.

here here! Imagine what we could achieve if the government forced SAA to give up all its unused airport slots to other airlines? You can’t move in CPT at the moment without bumping into foreign tourists who all seem to be having the time of their lives. I really have to strain to hear a South African accent in camps bay and in Tank the other night the whole place was full of Americans! It reminded me of when I was living in NYC! That is what is so great about cape town: its full of all sorts of people from all over the world having a great time drinking the wine and eating the food and being blown away by the natural beauty of the place.
also means opium(opposite tank) is filled with hot tourists..:)

I cried.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEyr4xxYox4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOUPR11NhHE

This compton10 guy is great.

great videos.

[QUOTE=mike2005;10759960]here here! Imagine what we could achieve if the government forced SAA to give up all its unused airport slots to other airlines? QUOTE]

The good news is that seems to be happening. With the new airlift policy airlines won't be able to keep unused slots. And in bilateral talks with UAE both Emirates and Etihad got the extra flights they wanted (something that previously hardly ever happened) and Bahrain and Qatar are being reviewed later this month. I'd imagine a couple of European carriers will also be looking for more slots now. And it forces SAA to expand to keep up.

greg what is Emirates up to as they do twice daily to JHB?

[QUOTE=mike2005;10759960]here here! Imagine what we could achieve if the government forced SAA to give up all its unused airport slots to other airlines? QUOTE]

The good news is that seems to be happening. With the new airlift policy airlines won't be able to keep unused slots. And in bilateral talks with UAE both Emirates and Etihad got the extra flights they wanted (something that previously hardly ever happened) and Bahrain and Qatar are being reviewed later this month. I'd imagine a couple of European carriers will also be looking for more slots now. And it forces SAA to expand to keep up.

We seems to be having more and more traffic coming to O.R. Tambo. In terms of bussiness, how does it rank in the world and the CT-O.R Route, how does it rank after intro of Mango.

Police raid nets 100 in Hanover Park

By Caryn Dolley

In what police say is "the biggest-ever crackdown to cripple gangs and criminals", over 100 suspected Hanover Park gangsters have been arrested since last week and more arrests are imminent.

On Tuesday all available reservist SA Police Services (SAPS) members were deployed in the area - totalling about 50 officers.

Plans for a massive sting operation were also under way.

Basil Vellai, the acting station commissioner of the Philippi police station, said that between Friday and Sunday evening 55 suspected gangsters and drug dealers were arrested in Hanover Park.

This brought the total to over 100 who were arrested in the past week.

"Five unlicensed firearms were seized and most suspects were arrested for possession of drugs and the possession of illegal firearms. We're going all out, with the aim of removing drugs and criminals from the area. Residents are stuck indoors fearing for their safety and it's not fair," said Vellai.

Other charges which led to arrests ranged from malicious damage to property, housebreaking, assault, rape and outstanding warrants.

Vallei said in addition to extra patrols in the area more crime-combating units and outside forces, such as police officers from other areas, would be brought in.

"Officers already on duty over the festive season will also work extra hours. Even if it means us giving up precious time with our families we will flood Hanover Park with police officers and drown out the gangsters.

"This community will be helped," he said.

Vallei attributed last week's spate of shootings, in which four people were wounded, to rival gangs fighting over territory on which to sell drugs, especially crystal methamphetamine, better known as "tik".

"It's holiday time so the drug dealers are getting greedy. Rival dealers are encroaching on each other's turf and it upsets them because it means they may lose out on money," he said.

To quell drug dealing, he said, suspected "runners," - those who sold drugs under the instruction of gang leaders - were being searched on the streets.

"Every bit of drug we can lay our hands on will be confiscated and the person arrested. We're also eyeing the gang bosses who live in more upmarket areas. We'll cripple their runners and eventually strike them," said Vellai.

He said they were able to make so many arrests as the community was being more forthcoming with information.

"People are calling us now. We receive many phone calls every day because residents are getting frustrated about the conditions they're living in," said Vellai.

Shenaaz Salie, chairperson of the Concerned Residents of Hanover Park, a group which addressed issues raised by community members, said because more police vehicles were visible on the streets they felt "more at ease".

"It's very good to see something being done. We feel a little safer and it's a positive thing for our children," she said.



* This article was originally published on page 6 of The Cape Times on December 13, 2006

Cape Times

Published on the Web by IOL on 2006-12-13 03:33:00
© Independent Online 2005. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this article in good faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information it contains.