The Letters Editor: 28 June, 2006.

From: Cliff Saunders

Dear Sir/Ms
I write to The Sowetan because in many ways your readers are the ones that
really “count” — and I am convinced that the time has come for Safety and
Security Minister Charles Nqakula to be “counted out!”

The man finds it totally impossible to say anything “right.”

Now following the killing of policemen this “brave heart” surrounded by
bodyguards has belligerently warned that if a criminal points a gun at a
policeman the policeman will be entitled to “shoot to kill.”

Dear Mr. Nqakula: By the time a criminal is pointing a firearm at a policeman he has aimed and will be shooting first. What we want to hear is: “Any criminal known to be carrying a firearm will be shot and killed!” Why must the criminal have the initiative?

And we ordinary citizens want the same rights — even more so because we are not wearing bulletproof jackets.

That aside, Mr. Nqakula, if an ordinary citizen is shot and crippled for
life his “disability grant” by the government amounts to a mere R800.00 (US$114) a month. If the criminal who shot the victim is caught and imprisoned, government figures show that it costs the taxpayer R3,420.00 (US$490) a month to keep that character behind bars. There he receives a “balanced diet”, free and good medical attention — and is generally kept in good health, until he emerges from prison possibly/probably to resume a life of crime.

This is not justice Mr. Nqakula! That disability grant should be much more
than the money spent on the cruel criminals whose consciences are little
more than mental cesspools!

yours sincerely
Cliff Saunders.