It is obvious that the general lack of confidence in the South African Police Service extends to the ANC government due to the publicity around how ANC politicians have been involved in making the SAPS as corrupt as it is today.
This corruption will extend down to provincial and regional level and local police stations.
When the police service started to deteriorate, when members who retired or resigned or died were not replaced, I could not understand how government allowed this to happen.
Now it has become evident that the ANC government was part and parcel of this process.
Generals are appointed without them having previously been in the police service or defence force and there are so many officers who have criminal records but are still in the service.
Previously, when I was involved in the furniture business, when a member of the police was in arrears with their account in our company, I phoned their station commander to inform them and then the member was instructed to bring their account up to date immediately.
No person with a criminal record could join the police and if a member was found guilty of any crime, he/she would be dismissed.
Back then it was a pleasure awarding an account to any member of the police service but today it is a different story.
With very few members left in the detective services and most having 100 or even 300 dockets to investigate, it is obvious that only priority crimes such as murder or rape can be investigated.
Other crimes such as burglary or assault cannot be properly investigated.
We need to live with that, but what really concerns me is the fact that the police service intends to disarm us, who are legally licenced to possess firearms.
So how do we defend ourselves when a suspect enters our premises with a firearm?
But when you look at the large number of firearms that go missing from the police and the defence force, can we accept that all firearms surrendered or retrieved are really destroyed under the watchful eye of the police service?
I really do not have any answers as to how are we going to overcome these problems except that we must all join our local Neighbourhood Watch and play an active role there and get rid of the present government at the next elections.
Unemployment is a major problem in our country, and I know it is always said that the unemployed community must steal their food to live, but again is this not the agenda of our government?
The private sector is the largest employer in SA but then again can they invest large amounts of money to open new businesses if the local municipality where they want to invest cannot supply them with water and electricity and where the sewage runs down the streets?
The alternative could be to open your business in the Western Cape.
But in reality, companies are closing down in SA and Goodyear is an example of that.
- Willie Bosch, Maitlands
