It is supposed to be a beautiful country but I'm afraid it isn't a destination you hear touted by travel agents over here.

Holidayed there in '97, '98 and '99 but haven't been back since. Car broken into, accomodation ransacked and the final straw was my mate being robbed of a Nando's chicken supper at gunpoint in the early evening. Scenery and game parks are spectacular but armed robbery and rape statistics are terrifying.

Well, at least there's no more apartheid. Teddy Kennedy should be proud.

#3 i was deported from S/A for breaking apartheid, my crime? i gave three little black kids some fruit.My friends in S/A all say they have the best police force money can buy.

I am tired of writing about the corruption in the African countries. Pity no one reads this good. No one reads this. Pity there is no action. Sad the corruption is increasing daily. The best jobs go to the police and traffic officers. On weekends they make more their pay. Stopping the cars in the nights and finding any fault. Even if it means one bulb bright one bulb working but slightly deem. Then comes the paper work under door lights or the lights that they find faulty. This is not correct or that is not legible. At 1.pp in the night when the cop himself is drunk nothing is eligible. But the court case threats work very well. You pay some amount and go home as if nothing has happened, simple. This is everyday happening. You never things seriously. You pay keep you mouth shut and repeat this again till you go broke. Then go walking. Then the police stop you for ID. And find you are illegal although you speak in the same language and cry, fall on the floor and plead that you pa was born here. No. You pay then you are legal for that night. Next night if you are out you are again the illegal unwanted creature. Boy this is Africa. From Egypt to Cape from Chad to Sudan. I wonder what is in Sudan.

#5 you are spot on,been there seen it first hand.Sudan is a country too far for me though,it scares me to think about it.

They may no longer have apartheid but they now have BEE (black economic empowerment) which is apartheid in reverse

And I thought crime in South Africa was a myth - just like AIDS/HIV. Suitable World Cup hosts ? I think not. But they grow delicious black grapes, I'll say that for them.

Maybe the Chinese will bring forward their plan to colonize S.A. and impose Beijing-style order.

Where oh where is Media 1?

"... nearly 55,000 reported rapes (down slightly from 54,293)."
Please at least re-read your articles, and check for errors like this one, which anyone with basic knowledge of arithmetic could spot.

Sadly more police won't fix it. That police is just there to protect the elite in a very polarized society, just like during apartheid. However I'm glad the article mentions the idea of social reforms (such as land redistribution) to help stop crime, it would indeed help, since people who have their houses demolished by the police (just like during apartheid) tend to fall into crime very easy.

and

"Mr Mbeki has been condemned for denying that AIDS, which infects six million South Africans, is caused by the HIV virus; "

I'm glad to see there are people who speak out about this. It's been known for over a decade that the HIV virus is benign (harmless), it should be talked about more often.

#4
Jim Lad

Your statement about why you were allegedly deported was good for a laugh - please share another one with everybody!

With the depressing news from all over the world we welcome someone with a sense of humour such as yours !!!

The same applies to your friends - if they indeed made the statment you credited them with !!

Mbeki was finally forced to admit to the reality of the crime and ineffectual law enforcement stuation in S.A. should you not follow his example ????

Plenty of people are leaving SA as a result of the crime. Also employment opportunities for middle aged white men are scarce as a result of BEE.
Companies hire black faces regardless of the level of competence just to get the quotas right otherwise they are slapped with huge fines.
Some companies fined it cheaper to pay the fine than to do damage control.
Universities work on a quota system, so many black, so many coloured,asian and last of all, white. Regardless of the scool achievements of such students.
New south african students riot and trash university campuses when they are locked out for not paying fees.
Cape Town is reasonably safe but there are areas to stay out of. You will not survive the cape flats and if you get lost and wander into crossroads the chances are good you will be raped and probably killed,regardless of your skin colour. Stay in a group and keep away from the hot spots.
I think our president has taken a step in the right direction by admitting high crime and taking further steps to erradicate it.
Perhaps one day it won't be neccessary to barracade my house with high walls ,burglar bars, alarm systems and crazy dogs. As a south african I try to remain positive. This is a beautiful country and I love it.
visit www.southafricapost.com

Croydon UK wheren I work has a lot of crime-but who hears about that?. I have been to SA three times from 2003. I know there is crime but have not actually seen any.
There are relatively safe places in SA and places to avoid.
I think the country is the hope of Africa. The people at the top need too stop lining their own pockets and realise their people are suffering.
Better trained police are part of the solution.
The solution starts at the top.