[Wow! The annual murder rate in NZ is the same as one day in S.Africa!! Thanks for those facts. But let me tell you something – the murder rate they’re quoting of 50 per day and 18,000 per annum are the FUDGED DOWN crime statistics.

I remember in my one conversation with Neil Watson/Juan Uys, last year, he told me that Interpol estimates the real murder rate at close to 48,000 per annum!! If that is true, then it probably means that in a mere 8 hours in S.Africa as many people are murdered as in New Zealand in a year! Wild hey?

First National Bank over here was going to embard on a mega-anti-crime campaign… but Govt and other business silenced it. A new, watered-down campaign may occur in its place. Jan]

Jan,
I thought that you may be interested in hearing what is reported on the news in New Zealand about crime in SA. This Friday on the national television news there was a story about crime in South Africa. It was only a few minutes but was very interesting. It stated that there were 18,000 murders in a year, approximately 50 a day. It showed a funeral of a person who had been murdered, and an interview with a victim of crime – an elderly man who had been shot in his own home who stated the government was doing nothing to reduce crime. It then showed separate interviews with Mangasuthu Buthelezi and someone from the government (did not catch name). In summary, Dr Buthelezi agreed that crime was a problem and that he would not encourage tourists to visit SA because he would not want to have blood on his hands. The government spokesman (ANC) on the other hand stated that the government did not see crime as a problem because it was comparable to that in the USA. The journalist later corrected this statement saying that in actual fact crime in SA was 10 times that in the USA. Of interest the news stated that the annual murder rate in New Zealand was equal to one day in South Africa.
Regards
Craig

Replied:
Thank you so much Craig. We appreciate the time and effort to make this report. I’ll send it to the Readers News Page. It is important to know what news is making it’s way to the rest of the world. If it is factual, then good, and if not, it allows us to make an effort to see it corrected.
Good to hear from you.
Regards,
JoAn