Crime & a poll

This is always the big topic of conversation in South Africa - it was when I lived here in 1998 and even more so now. The concern is that with the 2010 World Cup the country's reputation is being tarnished. But really whether the football comes here or not it's a major problem.
Mbeki and other top dogs including the police chief say crime isn't out of control and crime figures are down. But talk to any South African anywhere and they'll say the opposite.

A recent poll printed in today's paper has the following findings:
What South Africans think:
Crime going up: 81%
Crime dropping: 15%

and then
What S Africans feel:
Proud South African: 96%
Happy: 59%
Well: 61%
Unsafe: 75%
A failure: 6%
Depressed: 10%
Anxious: 6%

What S Africans have:
Work: 48%
Indoor water: 55%
No clean water: 6%
Flush toilet: 57%
Electricity: 88%

How S Africans live:
Households: 12.4 million
Houses: 9.4 million
Shacks: 1.3 million
Huts: 1.7 million

Education:
None: 12.5%
Primary: 10%
Matric: 27%
Diploma: 8%
Degree: 3%

It's believed that Mbeki doesn't want to open the can of worms labelled Crime because he's stepping down soon and it could be problematic for his successor and could lose precious votes. So instead people grumble and worry.