[I read in a newspaper that a study done about this showed that the SA Govt would have to pay R50 or R80 BILLION in compensation to crime victims!! It was regarded as financially impossible! Jan]

By Proffesor Ndawonde

The South African Human Rights Commission has called for more research on the complex issue of a proposed compensation fund for victims of violent crime.

SAHRC chairperson Jody Kollapen said the compensation fund proposed by the DA needed intensive research before being endorsed.

The state should start by improving services for victims, possibly through the Service Charter for Victims of Crime.

The DA envisages a fund along the lines of the Road Accident Fund (RAF), but in this case it would pay out people who had been intentionally injured and abused through criminal acts.

The Treasury has made it clear that there are too many victims of violent crime for compensation to be affordable.

DA national spokesperson on safety and security, Dianne Kohler-Barnard, said that by calling for a compensation fund, the DA was not asking that less money be spent on the criminal justice system.

Treasury spokesperson Lindani Mbunyuza said further research was needed on the number of victims, and a financial assessment was necessary.

“According to our figures, compensating victims in line with the model used in Texas would amount to 4,2 percent of gross domestic product, or R56-billion,” she said.

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