Lothar
Outrage over 'crime moaners' remark
Fri, 02 Jun 2006
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula should apologise
for calling citizens concerned about crime "moaners",
the Democratic Alliance said on Friday.
"The minister... must apologise to South Africans concerned
about the high crime rate for labelling them 'constant moaners'
and suggesting that they should leave the country,"
DA spokesman Roy Jankielsohn said.
During debate on his budget vote on Thursday, Nqakula said:
"They can continue to whinge until they're blue in the face...
be as negative as they want to, or they can simply
leave this country so that all of the peace-loving South Africans,
good South African people who want to make this a successful country,
can continue with their work."
It was not quite clear who Nqakula was referring to.
Jankielsohn said on Friday these comments were ironic considering
Nqakula had "chosen" to spend much of his time out of the country
brokering a peace deal in Burundi instead of getting on with his work at home.
"The minister's defence that 'It makes sense that the president
sends his safety and security minister to help our friends in other
countries' can never be accepted when, by the minister's own statistics,
every day 51 South Africans are murdered, 151 rapes are reported by women
and children and 347 armed robberies take place."
"The minister is clearly out of touch with the feelings of ordinary
South Africans, perhaps because he rarely visits victims of crime and
is protected by VIP security," Jankielsohn said.
The truth was that South Africans — black and white — were angry
about the high crime rate and justifiably felt that the state
was not protecting them.
Instead of berating citizens, Nqakula should be taking action to allay their fears.
"The people of South Africa deserve an apology from the minister
and an undertaking that he will put all his efforts into tackling crime,"
Jankielsohn said.
Sapa
Fri, 02 Jun 2006
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula should apologise
for calling citizens concerned about crime "moaners",
the Democratic Alliance said on Friday.
"The minister... must apologise to South Africans concerned
about the high crime rate for labelling them 'constant moaners'
and suggesting that they should leave the country,"
DA spokesman Roy Jankielsohn said.
During debate on his budget vote on Thursday, Nqakula said:
"They can continue to whinge until they're blue in the face...
be as negative as they want to, or they can simply
leave this country so that all of the peace-loving South Africans,
good South African people who want to make this a successful country,
can continue with their work."
It was not quite clear who Nqakula was referring to.
Jankielsohn said on Friday these comments were ironic considering
Nqakula had "chosen" to spend much of his time out of the country
brokering a peace deal in Burundi instead of getting on with his work at home.
"The minister's defence that 'It makes sense that the president
sends his safety and security minister to help our friends in other
countries' can never be accepted when, by the minister's own statistics,
every day 51 South Africans are murdered, 151 rapes are reported by women
and children and 347 armed robberies take place."
"The minister is clearly out of touch with the feelings of ordinary
South Africans, perhaps because he rarely visits victims of crime and
is protected by VIP security," Jankielsohn said.
The truth was that South Africans — black and white — were angry
about the high crime rate and justifiably felt that the state
was not protecting them.
Instead of berating citizens, Nqakula should be taking action to allay their fears.
"The people of South Africa deserve an apology from the minister
and an undertaking that he will put all his efforts into tackling crime,"
Jankielsohn said.
Sapa
