Apparently, South Africa is a safe place. Well, for visitors anyway.
Sadly, it appears that if you call our beautiful country home, your safety is not that much of a priority.
This sad reality was highlighted by the government’s response to the attack on four German tourists en route to the Kruger National Park on Monday.
The news was met with shock and outrage, resulting in the rapid deployment of Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to a meeting with the victims’ family members before their return to Germany.
Under the circumstances, Sisulu did what was expected of her.
She offered condolences, a shoulder to cry on and her word that the perpetrators would be brought to book.
Watch more: Cameron takes on Cele and Sisulu with another big call out
She emphasized that the tourism industry was taking every measure to prevent such an incident from happening again, adding that the Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism had issued a R50 000 reward to anyone who may come up with information that will lead to the arrest of the suspects.
In a statement issued by government after the meeting, Sisulu pointed out that the attack on tourists was not a daily occurrence in the country and that South Africa is a safe destination.
You see, Minister Sisulu views tourism as “a happiness industry” which requires the safety and security of all tourists – local and international. A sector with the capacity to handle over 14.80 million visitors by 2019 estimates.
“It is not correct that South Africans are predisposed to crime,” said Sisulu. “We are a peace-loving nation that ended one of the worst crimes in modern-day humanity, the apartheid system peacefully.”
Whether or not South Africa is a “peace-loving nation” is seriously up for debate, but there might be some truth to the minister’s claims.
Remember, our economy relies on those euros and dollars for everything including law enforcement in areas where tourists dare not tread.
We need those visitors to come to South Africa and experience our beautiful country for themselves.
We need them to return home, without a scratch, to tell all their friends about their wonderful holiday.
We need tourists to feel and be safe in SA. We need them to add to our GDP and not our crime stats. The bottom line is that the safety of tourists needs to be a priority but not the priority.
According to the minister, attacks on tourists are not a daily occurrence but she failed to mention the frequency of violent crimes against South Africans in their home country.
Read more: Bheki Cele breaks his silence on “shut up” outburst
Even the UK government urges tourists to avoid areas synonymous with crime with safety guidelines that caution visitors to stay away from townships and the central business districts of major cities.
Essentially, the UK advise tourists not to go off the beaten, polished and heavily policed paths intended for them to avoid becoming one of the three people that are murdered every hour in our country.
In the wake of Sisulu’s visit to the victim’s families, leader of Action Society in Gugulethu, Ian Cameron took to twitter to lambaste her efforts, along with those of Police Minister Bheki Cele, in addressing the scourge of “ordinary crimes” against “ordinary South Africans”.
Cameron called on the government to prioritize public safety ahead of the potential profits generated through a façade aimed at keeping visitors oblivious to the crimes that are happening right around the corner, just out of sight of the traditional tourist traps and attractions.
At the end of the day, there are two South Africas.
One where tourists are left so in awe of our exquisite country that we are able to liberate them of their hard-earned foreign finances, and another for South Africans to await their fate lower down on the priority list.
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Photo: Twitter