Eskom chair Mteto Nyati and Reuel Khoza, his counterpart at Discovery Bank, have hailed the response by senior KwaZulu-Natal police officials to violent crime in the province, saying their approach inspired confidence there was no tolerance to the menace.
The two leaders told the Cogence Summit held in Johannesburg on Tuesday that police in KwaZulu-Natal, led by provincial commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, had sent a strong message to criminals that committing crime has consequences.
“What we have seen in recent times in KwaZulu-Natal is good. They are not compromising. It is something that should be done countrywide. We are not saying just because people are perceived as criminals, their lives are dispensable. Unless we are firm-handed in dealing with criminals, their numbers will proliferate,” Khoza said.
“Crime is having an impact on tourism. If people look at us and wonder if they decide to go to the Kruger National Park driving themselves, will they be able to come back to their families? That becomes a big damper to an industry that is a significant job creator.”
Khoza’s comments were echoed by Nyati, who called for decisiveness in dealing with crime and corruption.
“If you look at what is happening in KwaZulu-Natal, you see that there is decisive action being taken. In that province there is no understanding of anything — we should stop understanding what should not be understood.”
Police in KwaZulu-Natal have drawn praise and criticism in how the province has clamped down on criminals. Almost 100 suspects have been killed in shoot-outs with police there this year. Critics say the police are trigger happy, while supporters say the action is justified.
Speaking on the Carte Blanche TV programme recently, Mkhwanazi, who served as acting national commissioner a decade ago, said police in the province aren’t trigger happy, but that his message to them was to not “die with your weapons in your hands.”
According to the latest crime statistics SA’s per capita murder rate is 10.1 per 100,000 people, while rape stands at 15.1 per 100,000 and assault with grievous bodily harm is 61 per 100,000.
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