Tag: Freedom Front Plus

‘Most feared crime increases’

robber“Robberies at residential homes, as the crime most feared by South Africans, increased by 3,6% according to the latest crime statistics. Burglaries at residential homes increased by 3,3% (253 633 incidents) and car hijackings by 5,4%. It is precisely at one’s home and on the way to work where people want to feel safe. The public therefore has reason to feel unsafe and is experiencing crime to be increasing,” Dr. Pieter Groenewald, the Freedom Front Plus’ chief spokesperson on Police said.

“What is also worrying is that of the 1 833 775 serious crimes which had been reported, there had only been 352 513 successful prosecutions. It is only a 19% successful prosecution rate. This means that the criminal justice system in South Africa has serious defects and is failing the public,” Groenewald said.

“Murder has increased by 0,6% but the fact that 16 259 people are murdered, means that there is a five times more likely chance for a person to be murdered in South Africa than anywhere else in the world where the average is 6 for every 100 000 people. Attempted murder has increased by 6,5% (16 363) which means that South Africa still remains a dangerous country,” Groenewald says.

The Freedom Front Plus welcomes the decline in crime against women and children and in crimes such as assault.

Pieter Mulder asks for parliamentary debate on affirmative action

pieter_mulderDr. Pieter Mulder, leader of the Freedom Front Plus, yesterday asked for an urgent parliamentary debate on affirmative action to be held in Parliament.

According to Dr. Mulder, affirmative action is the basis of the South African government’s policy initiatives to correct inequalities in the country’s community.

Dissatisfaction regarding the controversial policy has however spread to such an extent that it is at present the subject of intense discussions and even court cases.

“I have for these reasons requested that a parliamentary debate on affirmative action, and in particular about the manner in which the department of correctional services enforces it, is held as soon as possible as a matter of national importance,” Dr. Mulder says

South Africa in breach of its treaty obligations to minorities

by Anton Alberts

I refer to the column “Massacre reveals our deficit in human solidarity” (Business Day, September 18) by Aubrey Matshiqi.

In his introductory remark Mr Matshiqi attacks the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) for daring to propose a national department for minorities, to assist in protecting national minorities such as coloured, Indian and white communities.

While I enjoy reading Mr Matshiqi’s insights, this broadside from him is disconcerting.

First, it shows up his prejudices against minorities by making assumptions without actually researching the merits of the proposal, and without contacting the FF Plus to properly gauge the party’s position.

Second, it stifles debate about an important issue that can contribute tremendously towards social cohesion, which can go a long way to wiping out the country’s “deficit in human solidarity”.

The FF Plus is on record as saying that a department of minorities will be an appropriate institutional tool to safeguard the rights of the coloured, Indian and white communities.

We have members from all those communities who believe in the value of minority rights.

The very fact that President Jacob Zuma has stated in Parliament that only the majority has rights, and given the structural de facto economic discrimination against coloureds and Indians, and the de jure discrimination against whites, such a department is an imperative to bring about an equilibrium against the unfolding “tyranny of the majority”.

SA is in breach of its international obligations to give effect to minority rights as prescribed by the United Nations. This department can therefore go a long way to fulfilling that obligation and drawing minorities back into the mainstream that have been alienated by, amongst others, the likes of African National Congress apparatchiks such as Julius Malema and Jimmy Manyi.

Further to this, should pent-up minority expertise and capital be released as a result, one can only imagine the broader socioeconomic effects thereof. This can indeed be a case of win-win for everyone in SA. Therefore, this should become a national debate.

Anton Alberts is an MP for the Freedom Front Plus

Emphasis on affirmative action must shift to education

The Freedom Front has in reaction to research undertaken by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), which indicates that there is a correlation between the employment of an individual and the individual’s level of education, regardless of race, that there are an increasing amount of proof that affirmative action’s time has been served. According to the SAIRR research, 41% of black people have a degree and 36% of these people are employed in professional positions. Similarly, there were 45% white people with degrees and 42% of them are in professional positions. According to Adv. Anton Alberts, FF Plus parliamentary spokesperson in Labour, the research indicates that race no longer plays a role on a professional level and that the labour market offers opportunities to graduates, regardless of their race. That means that the emphasis has to shift away from affirmative action and should rather be placed on proper training. “In addition, South Africa has a serious shortage of skilled labour and it would be to the government’s advantage to rather fix the problems with the education system so that quality education can take place. The mere continued implementation of affirmative action on the other hand, denies the country effectiveness and optimal functioning of the economy. That is why the FF Plus will continue to oppose affirmative action,” Alberts explained.

“The rationale of affirmative action is busy falling away and any continued implementation will make it objectionable on the basis of the implementation of an irrational policy which is merely being maintained for the easy advantages which it disperses on the basis of race to a segment of the population. The ANC government should not be surprised if the policy in its entirety is eventually challenged in the Constitutional Court,” Alberts warned.

South African police minister must stop summary executions

The minister of police must intervene when people take the law into their own hands, the Freedom Front Plus said on Monday.

“The necklacing of alleged criminals in Khayelitsha the last two weeks by the community is a danger sign and creates anarchy,” FFPlus spokesman Pieter Groenewald said in a statement.

A man was found “necklaced” in the Harare section of Khayelitsha, in Cape Town, at 7am on Sunday, police said. His feet had been bound with rope.

Necklacing is the placing of a tyre around someone’s neck, dousing it with petrol and setting it alight to burn the person to death. .

Warrant Officer November Filander on Monday said it was believed the man who died was the victim of mob justice.

On Saturday, a man was also found dead in D Block, Lingelethu-West, Khayelitsha, with a tyre and concrete drain cover on his chest.

The man was on his back and blood was coming out of his mouth and ears. His feet were also bound with rope.

Filander said no arrests had been made.

The FFPlus would ask Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa in Parliament what steps would be taken to restore law and order in Khayelitsha and to restore the community’s trust in the police.