/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The primary duty of the State is to ensure a safe and secure environment for all citizens. Yet South Africa is one of the most dangerous places in the world, particularly for women and children. Our high crime rate is a symptom of Government’s failure to detect, prevent, arrest and prosecute criminals. This failure has created a crisis in which lives are being destroyed and lost. This needs to change.

In 2024, there is urgent need for the electorate to remove a failed government and hand the reins to a leadership with the skills, political will and integrity to achieve law and order that combats crime, corruption and drugs. The Multi-Party Charter for South Africa is that leadership.

Today the eleven parties in the Multi-Party Charter unveiled a Charter Government’s plan to address one of South Africa most devastating crises, by focusing on four priorities: professionalising the police service, improving the criminal justice system, addressing our nation’s drug problem, and tackling corruption and State capture. 

A Charter Government will make it a priority to hold all criminals to account and prevent future crime by addressing its root causes. Through a focused, evidence-based strategy, we will build a safer future for all South Africans. We will be tough on crime and even tougher on the causes of crime, to protect people, property and infrastructure, while deterring anti-social behaviour and the abuse of power.

The Charter’s specific plans, as discussed in greater detail by the Charter Leaders, include the following –

1.  Appoint police leadership on merit and improve the training and capacitation of police officers, the detective services, and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks). 

2.  Promote the establishment of municipal police services and prioritise the SAPS budget towards critical functions such as public order and visible policing. 

3.  Ensure that policing forums are well-resourced and create additional specialised law enforcement units to boost local community policing efforts. These will be aimed at gangs and criminal syndicates who terrorise communities. 

4.  Prioritise the safety of women, children and other vulnerable groups by dedicating funding for crime prevention as well as victim support services. 

5.  Create specialised courts and police units to deal with corruption, sexual and gender-based violence, gangs and drugs. 

6.  Increase budget allocations to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to recruit and retain critically needed skilled and experienced prosecutors and specialised forensic accountants, auditors and financial investigators (for the Investigating Directorate and Asset Forfeiture Unit). 

7.  Increase law enforcement and intelligence efforts aimed at dismantling drug supply networks and illicit trade. 

8.  Ensure that there are harsh consequences for anybody convicted of drug dealing and drug trafficking, while assisting drug users to quit through treatment and harm reduction support mechanisms. 

9.  End Cadre Deployment and ensure all public appointments are made on the basis of merit. 

10. Implement lifestyle audits for government officials selected randomly through a process similar to that which SARS utilises to identify taxpayers for audits. 

These commitments have been agreed to by all the signatory parties to the Multi-Party Charter, having consulted with a broad range of experts and capitalizing on the governance experience within the Charter.

We invite the electorate to consider the powerful impact you can make towards restoring law and order, by installing a Multi-Party Charter Government in the coming election. While the individual parties within the Charter are campaigning on their own merit, with distinct policies, brands and offerings, voters can confidently cast their vote knowing what each party will provide within a Charter Government.

This level of unity and vision is unprecedented in South African politics, and is exactly what our country needs.

Issued by The Multi-Party Charter for South Africa