Discussions about the death penalty should be forced back on the table as the National Freedom Party (NFP) believes that South Africa has lost the war on crime and government has no idea of how to solve the crisis.

The NFP’s leader in Parliament Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam says a carrot and stick approach is needed and perhaps it’s time to re-open this conversation.

Over a three-month period, more than 7000 people were killed and over 10 000 others were raped in the country. The NFP says this is an average of 76 murders and 115 persons being raped per day.

The NFP further expressed worry about the 22 percent surge in robbery with aggravating circumstances. It believes this shows more people are turning to crime as a source of income as they see it as lucrative career. It has partly attributed the increase to the lack of employment opportunities as the economy struggles to grow.