Agb Voorsitter, volgens Hansard, op die geleentheid van die instelling van die Skerpioene, het niemand minder as die agb Adjunkminister van Justisie, in sy toespraak, eintlik 'n aanprysing gehad vir die politieke partye in hierdie Huis wat politiek nie deel maak van die bekamping van misdaad nie. Tog, as dit kom by die ontbinding van die Skerpioene, dan is dit juis die ANC wat 'n politieke besluit geneem het om die Skerpioene te ontbind.
As ons byvoorbeeld gaan kyk na die 2002 nasionale konferensie van die ANC, sien ons dat hulle aanprysing gehad het vir die Skerpioene. Wat het die ANC destyds gedoen? Hulle het by hul nasionale konferensie gespog oor hoe goed hulle regeer, deur die prestasies van die Skerpioene op te haal. Daar vertel hulle vir die afgevaardigdes dat dit is hoe misdaad eintlik behoort beveg te word.
By hulle 2007 konferensie kom die ANC egter met 'n politieke besluit wat hulle nie eens by die konferensie motiveer nie. Hulle neem net 'n besluit en verklaar dat die Skerpioene ontbind moet word, omdat dit grondwetlik verkeerd is om Skerpioene te h, omdat die Grondwet bepaal dat daar slegs een polisiediens mag wees.
Maar die ANC weet mos hulle is verkeerd. Regter Khampepe het mos baie duidelik bevind en beslis dat dit nie ongrondwetlik is om die Skerpioene as deel van die Nasionale Vervolgingsgesag te gehad het nie. Daarom s die VF Plus dat die ontbinding van die Skerpioene 'n politieke besluit was wat gebaseer was op 'n verkeerde veronderstelling van die interpretasie van die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika.
Ek wil vir u s dat die sukses van die Skerpioene juis hul vervolgingsgedrewe ondersoeke is. Hulle kon daardie ondersoeke loods in uiters ingewikkelde, gesofistikeerde sake, want die misdadigers van Suid- Afrika het meer en meer gesofistikeerd geraak.
Ek wil vandag vir u s dat die nuwe agb Minister van Veiligheid en Sekuriteit die regte geluide maak. Dit wat hy in die openbaar en vir die publiek s, klink reg, asof hy regtig misdaad wil bekamp. Maar, hy het een groot probleem. Ek wil voorspel dat hy in die voetspore van sy voorganger, mnr Charles Ngqakula, gaan volg, deurdat hy dink hy iets kan doen, maar die beleid van die ANC gaan hom eenvoudig dwing om toe te laat dat misdaad eintlik net floreer.
Die besluit om die Skerpioene te ontbind het gewys dat u van die ANC, die regerende party, nie ernstig is om misdaad te bekamp nie. Daarom was dit 'n fout. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, according to Hansard, in his speech on the occasion of the establishment of the Scorpions, no less a person than the hon Deputy Minister of Justice, actually commended the political parties in this House for not making politics a part of the combating of crime. Yet, when it comes to disbanding the Scorpions, it is in fact the ANC who have taken a political decision to disband the Scorpions.
If we take a look at the ANC's national conference in 2002, we see that they had praise for the Scorpions. What did the ANC do back then? At their national conference they bragged about how well they were governing by bringing up the achievements of the Scorpions. They were telling delegates there that this is how crime ought to be combated.
But at their 2007 conference the ANC came with a political decision which they didn't even motivate at the conference. They just took a decision and declared that the Scorpions had to be disbanded because it was constitutionally incorrect to have the Scorpions, as the Constitution stated that there should be only one police force.
But of course the ANC knows that they are wrong. Judge Khampepe indeed clearly found and ruled that it was not unconstitutional to have the Scorpions as part of the National Prosecuting Authority.
The FF Plus therefore says that the disbanding of the Scorpions was a political decision based upon an incorrect assumption of the interpretation of the Constitution of South Africa.
I want to tell you that the success of the Scorpions lay in their prosecution-driven investigations. They could institute those inquiries into extremely complicated, sophisticated cases, because the South African criminals were becoming more and more sophisticated.
Today I want to tell you that the new hon Minister of Safety and Security is making the right noises. What he is saying in public sounds right, as if he truly means to combat crime. But he has one big problem. I want to predict that he will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Mr Charles Ngqakula, by thinking that he is in a position to do something, but the policy of the ANC is simply going to force him into allowing crime actually to flourish.
The decision to disband the Scorpions has proven that you of the ANC, the ruling party, are not serious about fighting crime. That is why it was a mistake. I thank you.]