It is criminal not to deal with crime

Shortly before my wife, Linda, left for New York, she placed a telephone order with a kosher butcher for the delivery of chickens.

Unable to pay by credit card, she e-mailed the butcher at their "telkomsa.net" address, asking them to send bank details so I could settle the relatively small amount owing.

I soon received a rather poorly composed reply originating from another Telkom address - online2432544@telkomsa.net - thanking me for my mail and directing me to transfer the money "asap" to a Standard Bank account in the name of BM Ramakasa.

I was staggered. Only two weeks ago I wrote about our armed robbery, and here we were faced with another situation of crooks trying to steal from us. I was astounded criminals had managed to infiltrate Telkom's mail system so easily and identify messages that carried references to credit card or bank account details.

If the account to which I was pointed was in the name of a Goldberg or Levin, I could have fallen prey to the ruse, but it was stretching it a little to get me to believe that Ramakasa was the proprietor of a kosher butchery.

The scam was an additional example of how crime in this country engulfs our existence in an endless series of episodes. Somehow, we just cannot shrug it off. It follows us wherever we go. It invades our homes, it robs our businesses, it attacks us on every street corner, and it even dirties our politics.

Sadly, though, we appear to do nothing about it, or certainly do not provide sufficient evidence that we are working to eliminate it.

I made numerous attempts to inform Telkom their e-mail system was compromised, but gave up after failing to reach anyone in the organisation who cared a hoot.

Instead, I turned my attention to Standard Bank in the belief that under the requirements of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, Ramakasa would have been obliged to provide an identity document and proof of residence before being sanctioned to open an account. After all, Fica demands a financial institution take suitable measures to prevent criminals using false or stolen identities to gain access to its services.

Standard Bank impressed me by promising a reply within 24 hours. They were true to their pledge, but offered nothing more than a prepared note that thanked me for bringing the matter to their attention, assuring that appropriate action would be taken; which was a nice way of saying that's the last I'll hear from them.

I'm not holding much hope that the police response to our recent break-in will be far off the bank's feeble comeback. Understanding the huge uphill our understaffed and undertrained police force face, I imagine the incident at our home will become just another statistic among the millions of similar unsolved crimes in South Africa.

Three years ago I wrote about my encounter with Alvaro Uribe, a former president of Colombia, at a conference near Los Angeles. In a keynote address, Uribe explained that turbulence and unrest had retarded progress in Colombia for most of its 200-year history. Talking to university students soon after he took office in 2002, he was distressed to learn that each young person was determined to leave the country after qualifying. Their concern was safety in their homes and security on the streets. To deal with their anxieties, Uribe pledged to confront guerrilla movements and paramilitary groups that threatened the wellbeing of the population and to rid the country of drug trafficking, kidnapping and corruption.

During his two terms as president he worked tirelessly to fulfil his undertakings, braving a number of attempts on his life. When he left office in 2010, illicit drug production was down 90%, streets were safe, government expenditure was slashed, investment had increased and economic growth was on the rise.

Uribe is not without critics nor is he free of controversy, but this year he re-entered politics as a senator. For those businesses organising conferences and searching for personalities who can make a difference to South Africa's plight, you won't go wrong with listening to Uribe.