Manuel focuses on fight against crime

Just throwing money at a problem is a fruitless exercise unless you have the correct personnel in place to do the job properly. If your only criteria to be a chief, captain or someone of high rank in the SA police service is having a black skin, then you will not be employing all the best minds available in the country.

So really, all this talk about 'fighting crime' is just a dog and pony show meant to impress voters. If the ANC was really serious about tackling crime, it would end affirmative action immediately where the welfare and security of the nation's citizens was concerned. People's lives matter more than some outdated Africanist ideology. Give citizens hope and confidence that the people in blue are there because they are the best suited for that job. Until that happens, we're just throwing money down a bottomless pit.

South Africa's 'dysfunctional' criminal justice system will be upgraded to improve case management and detective services will receive much-needed attention to boost the fight against crime.

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in his budget speech on Wednesday allocated extra funding to expand the criminal DNA database and put into place an electronic national fingerprint and case management system.

There will also be more than 20 000 new police officers on the beat by 2011. R5 billion extra has been set a side for their recruitment and training.

The Department of Justice will be using its budget in a concerted effort to recruit and retain skilled staff by improving salaries of legally qualified professionals.

Correctional services has been tasked with restructuring its shift system to cut down on overtime costs and the Department of Defence will upgrade some of its bases and expand its Reserve Force.

However, what will be done to pay for the dismantling of the now-defunct Scorpions unit is a question that the finance minister's budget has given a wide berth.