The national combined total of murder and attempted murder of 37 282 for the period April 2007 to March 2008 was 5% lower than the previous period, which had 39 344 cases between April 2006 and March 2007. Between 2001/02 and 2007/08, murder and attempted murder cases decreased from 52 698 to 37 282, a reduction of 29%.

All of the municipalities analysed had reductions in the number of murder and attempted murder cases over the seven-year period between April 2001 and March 2008, and between the 2006/07 and 2007/08 periods. The Motheo District Municipality had the highest reduction in the rate from 1 086 in the 2001/02 period to 555 in the 2007/08 period, a decrease of 49%. The smallest reduction was in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, where the number of cases decreased by 18% from 4 917 in the 2001/02 period to 4 195 in the 2007/08 period.

The rape and indecent assault data is analysed between April and December of each year due to a changed definition of sexually-motivated crime in 2007. Indecent assault is defined by law as any unwanted sexual behaviour or touching which is forced upon people against their will. This category had the lowest reduction rate of the three crime categories analysed in this newsletter, with the number of cases decreasing from 46 721 to 42 953, a reduction of only 8% between April 2001 and December 2007.

The City of Cape Town had the highest reduction in the number of cases from 4 256 in 2001 to 3 067 in 2007, a decrease of 28%. Cape Town had the highest number of cases in 2001, but due to the reduction in the number of cases, they had the second highest number of cases after the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in 2007. The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality had 3 259 cases in 2007. The Motheo District Municipality was the only municipality among the eight to have an increase in the number of cases between 2006 and 2007. The number of cases went up from 887 in 2006 to 893 in 2007, an increase of 1%.

The number of cases of common robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances in the country decreased from 206 941 in 2001/02 to 183 297 in 2007/08, a reduction of 11%. The number of cases decreased from 197 714 in 2006/07 to 183 297 in 2007/08, a decrease of 7%.

The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality had the highest reduction in the number of common robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances cases from 20 890 in 2001/02 to 14 942 in 2007/08, a decrease of 29%. The City of Johannesburg had the highest number of cases over the 7 year period, with 30 288 in 2001/02 and 26 810 in 2007/08, although this was a reduction of 12%. The Motheo District Municipality was the only municipality amongst the eight municipalities to have an increase in the number of robbery and robbery with aggravating circumstances cases, from 2 565 in 2001/02 to 3 283 cases in 2007/08, an increase of 28%.

The municipal outreach project aims to provide extensive research into the eight major municipalities in the country. This will be done by means of publications, the project website, and workshops. A monthly publication called Fast Facts for Local Government (F3LG) is sent to local councillors, officials, and development organisations in the eight municipalities covered by the project. A weekly newsletter is posted on the project website on Fridays, and e-mailed to project beneficiaries. The annual South Africa Survey, published by the Institute, will be posted to municipalities and extracts posted on the project website.

Workshops will take place during the course of the project in each of the eight municipalities. The first will be the Major Urban Poverty Challenges Identification (MUPCI) workshops which will take place during 2009, and will be designed for elected councillors and officials to identify what they see as the major poverty challenges facing their constituents. The Urban Poverty Intervention (UPI) workshops will take place during 2010, and will explore policy interventions appropriate to the challenges identified in the MUPCI workshops. The Anti Poverty Intervention Implementation Proposals (APIIP) workshops will take place during 2011, and will formally propose the policy interventions identified in the first two years.

 

Municipal councillors and officials, as well as development organisations working within these municipalities, are encouraged to participate in this pioneering initiative to combat poverty in South Africa's major urban districts.

-Nthamaga Kgafela