Weapons, ammunition and explosives, which were smuggled into the country by the ANC’s Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) during the eighties, play a significant role in the wave of serious crime sweeping through the country.
At the time, the ANC launched an operation named Vulindlela with the aim of arming its domestic structures.
While testifying before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 1998, a senior member of the ANC from Mpumalanga stated they were instructed by the leadership corps to collect funds for the ANC through bank robberies and transit heists.
The TRC also found that smuggled weapons and ammunition played a significant role in the violence of the early nineties’ political conflicts.
The FF Plus has asked the police and defence force numerous times to provide the records of the surrender and destruction of MK weapons, ammunition and explosives.
It is strange that both the police and defence force have not provided any records thus far.
And in the meantime, incidents of serious crime are escalating where assault rifles, like AK47s, are frequently used.
In the 2 300 transit heists between 2008 and 2016, R1 billion was looted and many people lost their lives.
Foreign syndicates are getting the upper hand, illegal mining activities, human and drug trafficking are on the rise, and the police seems to have no solution.
The FF Plus has made it very clear that effective, intelligence-driven policing must be urgently prioritised to combat crime.
But it is clear that the ANC government is not serious about effectively curbing this wave of crime. The reply of the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, to the FF Plus’s statements during the debate underscores this.
Instead of providing answers, Cele merely fell back on historical political rhetoric to try and evade the question.
South Africans deserve better than the ANC.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Fanie du Toit on FF Plus
