President Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest promises to combat gender-based violence and femicide must not become another set of government commitments that are announced during a national crisis, applauded for their intentions, and quietly forgotten once public outrage subsides.
Free SA says the President’s address to the nation on Tuesday evening contained an admission that should trouble every South African: seven years after he addressed the country on the same crisis, government’s efforts have still “not been enough”.
Eleven women’s bodies have been found in Ekurhuleni since July. Across South Africa, more families are mourning women and girls whose lives have been violently taken.
Against this horrifying backdrop, South Africans have every right to demand more than another speech.
Gideon Joubert, spokesperson for Free SA, said:
“Seven years ago, President Ramaphosa addressed South Africans about this crisis. Tonight, by his own admission, he had to do it again because what government has done has not been enough. That is not merely an acknowledgement. It is an indictment of years of promises that have failed to produce the safety South African women were promised.
“The country does not need another task team, another strategy document or another solemn undertaking that disappears when the cameras are switched off. Government must do its job.”
The President announced a new national case-recovery operation targeting unresolved murders, attempted murders, rapes and serious sexual offences involving women and children. Within 60 days, government is expected to identify unresolved cases, cases awaiting forensic evidence, suspects who have been identified but not arrested, and cases suffering unreasonable investigative or prosecutorial delays.
Within 90 days, recovery plans are supposed to be in place for priority and stalled cases.
The President also ordered a 60-day plan to address forensic backlogs, municipal safety audits and quarterly public progress reports.
Free SA says these deadlines must now become tests of government performance.
If the deadlines are missed, the responsible ministers and officials must explain publicly why they failed. If forensic samples remain unprocessed, South Africans deserve to know where the failure occurred. If identified suspects remain at large because of administrative incompetence, those responsible must be held accountable.
Promises without consequences for failure are not accountability.
Government Already Has a Duty to Do These Things
Free SA is concerned that several measures announced as emergency interventions amount to basic functions that citizens should already be able to expect from a functioning state.
Police should investigate murders.
Forensic evidence should be processed.
Case dockets should not disappear.
Victims reporting abuse should not be turned away.
Protection orders should be enforced.
Streetlights should work.
Dangerous public spaces should be maintained.
Officials who fail in their duties should face consequences.
South Africans should not have to wait for horrific killings and a presidential address before government performs these basic responsibilities.
Joubert said:
“When government announces that it will investigate stalled cases, process forensic evidence, repair dangerous public infrastructure and hold officials responsible for getting cases moving, the obvious question is: why was this not already happening?
“These are not extraordinary acts of government. They are among the most basic responsibilities of the state. South Africans already pay for these institutions. Women should not have to die before government remembers what those institutions are supposed to do.”
Ends