It was this morning on SABC 2 that a visitor to South Africa, on a short visit to watch the soccer, wrote in to share his tale of woe. Apparently followed from the O.R. Thambo airport, the thugs it seems cleaned him out of everything except his passport, as I write he is busy making tracks to return home, defeated by our Governments inability to keep crime under control, seemingly unable to protect visitors and residents alike. It is unlikely we will see him, his friends, family or their money ever again. He will forever remain a walking advertisement for everything we as South Africans should be afraid of.

The press is wall to wall with coverage of the current soccer competition, our readiness to host and welcome those planning to visit our shores and travel around during the 2010 FIFA soccer world cup, seeking beds, beers, accommodation. At the same time however, what space is still available includes coverage on our inability to process DNA samples; the disbanding of the Scorpions; the theft from the Egyptian soccer team from their Hotel; the triple rape we are all so shocked or stunned about that we are speechless; our own Mayor; The school administrator who stole thousands and many other stories. Stop, let’s take a view from a different angle.

Tourism in and around South Africa is already a major industry, a large employer offering jobs to thousands of South Africans, traditional tourism, internet sites such as www.staysa.co.za and others, there is a correlation here, the less the crime levels, the more beds will be booked by local and international travellers, the more the industry will prosper and the more jobs will be created. Anyone who has ever travelled internationally can only agree that we are sitting on the new gold. South Africa simply has to be the best kept tourism secret in the world, at a local level this also applies to the Eastern Cape, a region that even the local South Africa tourists have still to discover. I won’t go an about how great this country is, we all know that, we live here, what we, or our leaders, simply do not appreciate is that if we can fix this crime situation, bring it down to at the very least to a level comparable to international norms, we will bear witness to the growth of a relatively undiscovered income stream, if benefit to each and every one of us irrespective of our personal profession or career.