Latest news with #NationalRuralSafetyStrategy
The Citizen
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Dirco clarifies its response to US report that claimed racial minorities are abused in SA
Dirco disputed the 'inaccurate and distorted account of the facts' in the US Human Rights Report. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has updating its initial statement challenging the 2024 US Human Rights Report's assessment of safety conditions in South Africa's rural and farming communities. The report, released this month, stated that 'South Africa took a substantially worrying step towards land expropriation of Afrikaners and further abuses against racial minorities in the country'. It highlighted 'significant human rights issues', including unlawful killings, arbitrary arrest and the repression of racial minorities. 'The [South African] government did not take credible steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, including inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities, or violence against racial minorities.' SA government rejects racial motivation claims Dirco on Wednesday said the South African government wishes to clarify what it called 'an inaccurate and distorted account of the facts'. It said the nation addresses all forms of crime as a significant challenge affecting all citizens, regardless of their race or location. 'The suggestion that these crimes represent a concerted practice of racially motivated attacks, as insinuated by the US report, is not borne out by the facts,' Dirco stated. ALSO READ: Dirco rejects 'inaccurate and deeply flawed' US reports on SA human rights Police statistics challenge US assessment Official statistics from the South African Police Service (Saps) support the government's position. The data covers rural safety for the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year, from 1 January to 31 March 2025. Dirco highlighted that during this period, six murder cases occurred in farming communities. The breakdown of victims demonstrates that crimes do not target a single racial group. According to the statistics quoted by Dirco, the three victims were farm employees, one was a farm dweller, and two were farmers. 'These figures underscore that violent crime in rural areas affects everyone who lives and works on farms and related rural areas,' the department said. 'While the loss of any life is a tragedy, these statistics do not reveal a pattern of action driven by inflammatory racial rhetoric against a specific community.' ALSO READ: US report on human rights abuse in SA rejected Rural safety strategy Dirco said the government continues implementing a multi-disciplinary approach to rural safety. It said the National Rural Safety Strategy remains a priority and operates in police station areas serving rural and farming communities. By the end of the fourth quarter of 2024/2025, the strategy had been fully implemented in 893 out of 900 identified rural police stations. The initiative focuses on strengthening police capacity and encouraging community involvement, including traditional leaders and agricultural organisations. Parties involved in rural safety strategy The strategy incorporates multiple stakeholder groups in its implementation. Commercial farmers associations participate through organisations including: African Farmers Association of South Africa, National African Farmers' Union, Agri-SA and its provincial structures, and Transvaal Agricultural Union. Labour unions also play a role, particularly the Food and Allied Workers Union and organisations advocating for farm workers' rights. Interest groups such as AfriForum, the South African Agricultural Research Institute, and Stop Attacks and Farm Murders contribute to the collaborative effort. Private sector collaboration The government said it actively strengthens public-private partnerships through specialised programmes. 'Furthermore, we are actively strengthening public-private partnerships through initiatives like the Eyes and Ears (E2) programme, coordinated with Business Against Crime South Africa (Bacsa),' the department stated. This initiative utilises the private security industry's technological and logistical capabilities, which improve response times to rural crimes. Commitment to transparency Dirco said South Africa maintains its commitment to transparent and collaborative crime-fighting approaches. The government expressed readiness to engage with other countries on matters of mutual interest through established diplomatic channels. 'We stand ready to engage with any nation on matters of mutual interest through established diplomatic channels, and we will continue to provide accurate, data-driven information to counter any misrepresentations of our domestic situation,' the department concluded. NOW READ: Dirco reviewing ministerial report on Hajj and Umrah for SA pilgrims
IOL News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Police Minister Mchunu clarifies rural safety strategy while addressing crime statistics
Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu said on Friday that there is no genocide against white farmers Image: GCIS Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu on Friday firmly rejected claims of a genocide against white farmers in South Africa. This comes as crime statistics from the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year, covering the period from 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025, indicated six farm-related attacks with attacks not being on race. Mchunu said that the National Rural Safety Strategy was designed to create a safe and secure environment in rural areas. 'In the fourth quarter, six attacks on rural communities were recorded. We do not categorise people by race, but in the context of claims of 'genocide of White people', we need to unpack the killings in this category. 'The two farm owners that were murdered during the fourth quarter were African and not White. Further to that, the two farm employees and one farm manager were also African – it is the one farm dweller that was White. 'The history of farm murders in the country has always been distorted and reported in an unbalanced way; the truth is that farm murders have always included African people in more numbers.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Mchunu added that the government wanted to reject the notion of 'land grabbing' in the country. Instead, he confirmed that there were cases of land invasions, but said the two were very different. 'Land invasions are not government policy, but are by and large, acts of desperation for land by African people who find themselves landless and in need to settle. It is sporadic and it remains unlawful,' he said. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), said that the South African farming sector or farming community was not under siege. 'The country has devastating crime incidents, which should remain a major worry for all,' he said. 'However, it is necessary to state that there is no land expropriation without compensation in the country, that the recent Expropriation Act has been massively misrepresented, and that property rights remain intact. Land Reform is still under the market principles of the willing buyer-willing seller.' Jaco Minnaar, president of Agri SA, said it was good that Mchunu reverted to the National Rural Safety Strategy, which was developed with farmers. 'The problem is the implementation, which is not currently on track, as well as the lack of necessary resources allocated to it,' he said. 'AgriSA and other role players are in the process to address this with the minister and SAPS, and hope with the spotlight now on it, we will make progress. We are glad that our government realised it as a big concern, together with crime as a whole in SA, and we will assist as far as possible to help address the issue.' Francois Rossouw, CEO of Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai), welcomed Mchunu's recognition of farm attacks in the official crime statistics. 'However, the figure of only six attacks for the quarter must be viewed with caution. Many rural crimes go unreported, under-recorded, or misclassified due to inconsistent definitions and weak rural policing infrastructure,' he said. 'We take note of the Minister's distinction between land invasions and land grabs, but in practice, the line between the two is increasingly blurred. The lack of consequences for illegal land occupations and weak enforcement emboldens those who target farms. That alone undermines confidence in the government's commitment to the rule of law in rural areas.' Visit:
The South African
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The South African
Most farm murder victims in South Africa are BLACK
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has moved to correct what he describes as a longstanding misrepresentation in the reporting of farm murders in South Africa, stating that black victims have historically included the majority of the affected. 'The history of farm murders in the country has always been distorted and reported in an unbalanced way; the truth is that farm murders have always included African people in more numbers,' Mchunu said. Mchunu made the remarks, when he was presenting the fourth quarter crime statistics of the previous financial year (1 January 2025 – 31 March 2025) in Pretoria, on Friday. The report showed a notable decrease in farm attacks, with six incidents recorded in the fourth quarter, compared to 12 in the previous quarter. The victims included two farm owners, two farm employees, one farm manager, and one farm dweller. While the South African Police Service (SAPS) does not categorise crime statistics by race, Mchunu addressed the racial aspect in response to recent claims of a 'white genocide' in the country. 'The two farm owners that were murdered during the fourth quarter were African and not white. Further to that, the two farm employees and one farm manager were also African – it is the one farm dweller that was white. 'Last quarter, we reported that a total of 12 farm murders had been reported, with one farm owner having been murdered. 'Notable progress has been made in respect of investigations into these cases, and a number of arrests have been made,' Mchunu said. Mchunu reiterated the SAPS's commitment to prioritising all types of crimes with urgency; as well as to conduct thorough investigations to ensure that justice is ultimately served. He further highlighted the government's commitment to the National Rural Safety Strategy, which aims to create a safe and secure environment in rural areas. 'We have appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee multiple times to account for our efforts. The National Rural Safety Strategy is designed to create a safe and secure environment in rural areas, and we are committed to fully implementing it. 'As from this year, when we release the first quarter results, we will include a number of other categories of crime in the country, to show a fuller picture. For an example, killings in rural and urban areas, instead of just on commercial farms, but for now, our statistics are based on commercial farms,' the Minister said. Mchunu also sought to dispel misconceptions about so-called 'land grabbing' in South Africa. While confirming that land invasions do occur, he rejected the notion that they reflect government policy. 'Land invasions are not government policy but are by and large acts of desperation for land by African people who find themselves landless and in need to settle. It is sporadic and it remains unlawful, hence the cases and investigations thereof,' he explained. Mchunu stressed that the policy of expropriation without compensation is a lawful and systematic effort to resolve the issue of landlessness. 'My colleague in the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, [Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso], has expressed concern about the misuse of the term 'land grab' and will provide further clarification next week,' Mchunu said. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Police minister: Most farm murder victims have historically been black
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has moved to correct what he describes as a longstanding misrepresentation in the reporting of farm murders in South Africa, stating that black victims have historically made up the majority. 'The history of farm murders in the country has always been distorted and reported in an unbalanced way; the truth is that farm murders have always included African people in more numbers,' Mchunu said. Mchunu made the remarks while presenting the fourth-quarter crime statistics for the previous financial year (January 1 – March 31, 2025) in Pretoria earlier today. The report showed a notable decrease in farm attacks, with six incidents recorded in the fourth quarter, compared to 12 in the previous quarter. According to the statistics, the victims included two farm owners, two farm employees, a farm manager and a farm dweller. While SAPS does not categorise crime statistics by race, Mchunu addressed the racial aspect in response to recent claims of a 'white genocide' in the country. 'The two farm owners that were murdered during the fourth quarter were African and not white. Further to that, the two farm employees and one farm manager were also African – it is the one farm dweller that was white. 'Last quarter, we reported that a total of 12 farm murders had been reported, with one farm owner having been murdered. Notable progress has been made in respect of investigations into these cases, and a number of arrests have been made,' Mchunu said. He reiterated the SAPS's commitment to prioritising all types of crime and to conducting thorough investigations to ensure that justice is served. Mchunu highlighted the government's commitment to the National Rural Safety Strategy, which aims to create a safe and secure environment in rural areas. 'We have appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee multiple times to account for our efforts. The National Rural Safety Strategy is designed to create a safe and secure environment in rural areas, and we are committed to fully implementing it. 'As from this year, when we release the first quarter results, we will include a number of other categories of crime in the country, to show a fuller picture. For example, killings in rural and urban areas, instead of just on commercial farms, but for now, our statistics are based on commercial farms,' the minister said. 'No land grabbing in the country' Mchunu also sought to dispel misconceptions about so-called 'land grabbing' in South Africa. While confirming that land invasions do occur, he rejected the notion that they reflect government policy. 'Land invasions are not government policy but are by and large acts of desperation for land by African people who find themselves landless and in need to settle. It is sporadic and it remains unlawful, hence the cases and investigations thereof,' he explained. Mchunu stressed that the policy of expropriation without compensation is a lawful and systematic effort to resolve the issue of landlessness. 'My colleague in the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development, [Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso], has expressed concern about the misuse of the term 'land grab' and will provide further clarification next week,' Mchunu said. – Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
