Turning words into action. Chamber platform will help tackle crime

There are some significant deadlines this week, not least the August 1 imposition of tariffs on most South African exports to the US. At the time of writing, it remains unclear what  this tariff will be. 

But another ominous deadline has no particular date because it is already upon us – South Africa’s continued crime epidemic.  

This week the Cape Chamber hosts a workshop that tackles the crime problem head-on. We have invited key stakeholders, from across the broad sweep of both the public and private sector, to jointly address this problem. These stakeholders will include senior police officials, politicians, academics and business leaders, all united by a common purpose – to thwart criminals. 

This is more than another ‘talk-shop’; it forms part of the Chamber’s Systemic Dialogue Network, a business initiative specifically aimed at connecting  responsible public sector partners and academics to our economic improvement teams – in this case the Safety and Security team.  Every quarter we unite different sets of government and academic stakeholders to interact with their business customers, to promote thought leadership on a range of critical topics. 

In this way we build dialogue that can be translated into action. We do so by providing credible information to inform strategies around a clearly articulated problem.  

This week’s meeting will focus on two main topics: a)  business support for better technology use by SAPS and other law enforcers; b) how to improve investor confidence in the WC economy.   

Crime costs business about 10% of GDP in the Western Cape, around R66-billion annually, according to a World Bank estimate.  Of that the two biggest costs are protection (44%) and theft (27%). Effective public-private partnership would undoubtedly improve these metrics. 

SAPS  is also constrained by a past history of limited engagement with the private sector. We hope this is about to change. 

By introducing business models, based on our systemic approach, we believe we can accelerate positive change.   An underlying principle of business is to address unmet needs. 

To be more precise, we are proposing business model funding for law enforcement, to increase tools and systems available to fight crime with efficacy. We get the relevant stakeholders to talk to each other, understand the scale of the problem, and devise practical strategies to move forward. 

We intend using this model to address as many systemic challenges as possible.  

Watch this space.

John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry