Riyaz Patel
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has criticised the decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to grant sentence remissions to more than 50,000 criminals, describing it as a slap in the face for the victims of crime.
The president made the announcement Monday while delivering his Reconciliation Day address in KwaZulu-Natal.
Those prisoners granted the remissions would have 12 months removed from their sentences, meaning some would become eligible for parole earlier than expected.
“The slap in the face that this reckless, foolhardy approach represents to literally thousands of South Africans who fall victim to crime on a daily basis, cannot be overstated,” said Glynnis Breytenbach, the DA’s spokesperson on Justice and Correctional Services.
“To suggest, as the ANC does, that South African prisons ‘shall only (be) for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance’ is to understate the nature of the problem to the point of the bizarre,” she said.
Breytenbach added that the under-resourced and severely constrained police force works tirelessly, often with little or no recognition, to investigate crimes and prepare evidence for criminal trials.
“Prosecutors work equally tirelessly under severe constraints to prosecute those cases in an effort to make South Africa a safer place for all. The fruits of their hard labour are now to be rewarded by ‘special remissions’ for over 14 000 convicted criminals.“
