President Cyril Ramaphosa Promises to Prioritise Crime Prevention, SA Unmpressed: “Has He Fired Bheki Yet?”

• President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed that the ANC's newly elected leadership would prioritise fighting crime
• This comes as the levels of crime in South Africa have reached an all-time high in recent years
• South Africans aren't impressed by the president's declaration and have questioned if his crime-fighting plan includes firing Bheki Cele

BLOEMFONTEIN - President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a war on crime as states indicate the level of crime in South Africa is becoming untenable.

During the closing of the African National Congress' 55th national elective conference, Ramaphosa re-committed the newly-elected leadership of the ANC to crime prevention in light of the drastic uptick in incidents over recent years.

The president also called on security agencies to be more effective when tackling rampant corruption and crime while working decisively to stamp out kidnapping, GBV gangsterism, drug peddling and illegal mining, IOL reported.

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The latest stats on crime from July to September 2022 showed a sharp increase in murder, attempted murder and GBV. The leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), John Steenhuisen, asked Ramaphosa through a parliamentary question why he hadn't fired Police Minister Bheki Cele in light of the increase in crime.

According to News24, Ramaphosa took up arms for Cele stating that there was no link between the levels of crime in South Africa and Cele's performance as police minister.

The head of state added that fighting crime isn't solely the police minister's responsibility, claiming that all government departments and public entities should play a role in protecting South Africans.

South Africans weigh in on Ramaphosa's resolution to fight crime

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South Africans are not impressed with Ramaphosa's war on crime.

Below are some reactions:

@TheRealLordoft1 asked:

"Has he fired Bheki yet?"

@Magdalene2490 chuckled:

"Next joke please!"

@C901111 suggested:

"First, protect our borders."

@divservshopping accused:

"You cannot believe this complicit criminal who, if not actively involved with looting and corruption, was completely aware of what Zuma was doing."

@22_saying added:

"Please - not again. Why do people believe the same nonsense every time?"

@lebuza25 laughed:

"Criminal declaring war against crime."

@MbuzwaM questioned:

"How can you declare war on yourself?"

ANC reconsidering economic transformation tactics in light of some policy failures, Makhura said

In another story, Briefly News reported that it's back to the drawing board for the African National Congress (ANC), which just adopted a resolution to pivot on economic transformation tactics after some of the party's policies have failed.

According to National Executive Committee (NEC) member, David Makhura, one of the ANC's policy shortcomings include the failure to incorporate women and the youth into South Africa's mainstream economy.

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Makhura's comments come as the governing party finally concluded its 55th national elective conference on Thursday, 5 January. The NEC member said the ANC would begin consultative processes to determine which policies should be abandoned and which are worth keeping, EWN reported.

Source: Briefly News