The ruling African National Congress (ANC) elections manifesto runs to 58 pages, but there is little mention of security, although the party pledges to continue fighting crime.
The ANC over the next five years promises to Intensify the war on crime and make communities safe. This includes action against drugs, organised crime, gender-based violence and femicide, infrastructure theft and vandalism, extortion and gangsterism.
To keep homes and streets safe and protect the borders, the ANC says it will take a comprehensive approach to fighting crime through the Integrated Violence and Crime Prevention Strategy; modernise policing with more frontline police officers; resource Community Policing Forums; develop capabilities to combat cybercrime, essential infrastructure crimes, illegal firearms, gang violence, crime syndicates, human and drug trafficking, and corruption; provide additional capacity to the Hawks to tackle organised crime; implement a data-driven approach to target violent crime hotspots; strengthen the justice system; act against extortion and violence in the construction sector by strengthening the SAPS Economic Infrastructure Task Teams; tackle priority crimes like gang violence and cash-in-transit heists through specialised police units; and strengthen anti-money laundering efforts and secure South Africa’s removal from the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring.
Illegal immigration
To address the illegal immigration problem, the ANC says it will complete the overhaul of South Africa’s immigration policy and systems “including the Citizenship Act, Refugees Act and Immigration Act, towards a single law dealing with citizenship, immigration and refugees to prevent contradictions and meet the new challenges facing South Africa.”
The ruling party also aims to locate refugee and asylum centres close to border posts, regulate the employment of foreign workers in line with the National Labour Migration Policy, to give preference to South African job-seekers and act against employment and exploitation of undocumented persons; simplify visa applications; and use technology to modernise systems to prevent fraud and bogus documents.
