South African Police Service (SAPS) on its 3rd Quarter Financial Report & underspending on building projects

Meeting report

The Chairperson explained the purpose of the meeting. The Committee had visited four provinces, and had found similar problems in all regions, mainly relating to poor financial control. It seemed that some national legislation was not being disseminated to station level. The Department of Police had provided information. Police members at some stations, Maitland in Cape Town being a significant example, had been found to abusing sick leave. The Western Cape Commissioner had claimed that the information given to the Committee was wrong. If this was the case then the Committee needed the correct information. Steps would be taken against the Department if their figures were wrong. She expressed the Committee's concern over firearm control, both service weapons and weapons being sent around the country for forensic tests. She had not been surprised to read the related newspaper article published recently. It would be concerning if the allegations contained in that article bore any truth. The standard of training was also in question. The practice of using workbooks for training seemed to have ceased. There seemed to be confusion on how recruits would be deployed. A meeting would be arranged at a later date to address these specific issues.

The Chairperson said that there had been reports that a new police station would be opened in Polokwane. The existing station could not cover the whole area effectively. The provincial Commissioner acknowledged that there was poor service delivery at stations.

Presentation by South African Police Service
Lieutenant-General (Lt-Gen) Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Acting National Commissioner, South African Police Service (SAPS), introduced the SAPS delegation. The article in the Sunday newspaper had been taken from an internal control document which alerted management to upcoming problems. He had taken note of the concerns raised. A meeting would be held with senior management of the SAPS the following week. It was time to focus on quality in service delivery. There were 200 000 members, and it was difficult to exercise control over so many people.

The Chairperson expressed the Committee's sympathy to Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi on the loss of his younger brother.

Lt-Gen Stefan Schuster, SAPS, said various reports had to be tabled. There were monthly, quarterly and annual reports. He presented the third quarter report. The first programme was Administration, in which 63.7% of the 2011/12 budget had been spent by the end of the third quarter. The Visible Policing 75.5%, the Crime Intelligence Programme 75.7% and the Protection and Security Services Programme 71.1%. These figures could be compared to a linear benchmark of 75% for the end of the third quarter. Actual spending across all programmes was R41.6 billion to date, which equated to 71.1% of the total budget.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that the largest portion of the budget, some 70%, went on compensation of employees. Goods and services covered all operational expenses such as fuel, travel, uniform and other expenses. Other categories of expenditure across all programmes were transfers and subsidies, payment for capital assets and payments for financial assets.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that in terms of compensation of employees 75% had been spent and was on track. Goods and services had spent 62% to date. Transfers and subsidies were spent mainly on transfers to provincial and municipal authorities for vehicle licences and stood at 84.5% at the end of the quarter. Transfers were made to Departmental agencies, particularly to the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), and stood at 52%, but there had been a dramatic increase in transfers in the current quarter. The household expenses were mainly due to civil claims and payments including retirement and death benefits. At the end of the third quarter 85.8% of this budget had been spent. Payments for capital assets were only currently at 38% of the annual budget. These payments normally picked up later in the financial year, particularly regarding the delivery of new vehicles. There had been an over-expenditure in terms of cultivated assets, which referred mainly to dogs and horses used in SAPS work.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that compared to previous years, the spending in the ninth month of the financial year (FY) was lower than in previous years. This was due to lower compensation, goods and services (CGS) expenditure. Spending in each quarter was not always balanced. Salary increases were usually backdated, resulting in spikes in expenditure.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that the total spending was currently 71.1% of the budget vote. There might be some reprioritisation needed to cover fuel price increases. The average petrol price was more than R10 per litre. The SAPS used approximately 193 million litres of fuel per annum, so fuel price increases had a significant effect on the budget, but this was being managed. Spending on capital assets was low, but historically deliveries often took place only late in the FY.

Lt-Gen Schutte gave a breakdown of spending on the Administration programme. The budget for Corporate services was the highest contributor to the budget at R17.7 billion, of which 63.8% had been spent by the end of the third quarter. Major components in this category were human resources development (HRD), where 74.5% of R1.5 billion had been spent. R3.4 billion had been budgeted for supply chain management (SCM) of which 53% was spent, 79% of the budget for medical support, and 29.2% of the R3.5 billion budgeted for technology management services (TMS). The budget for office accommodation was R2.5 billion.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that money was transferred to the Department of Public Works (DPW) who then paid the landlords. In the past, SAPS paid for leases in advance quarterly. Since the beginning of the FY, this arrangement had been changed to monthly payments in arrears based on actual expenses. There was some risk in this environment. Invoices were paid monthly. Capital works spending was only at 28.6%. Various discussions had been held. He felt that they would still come in on target generally, but there was a significant risk in this area.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that the Criminal Justice System (CJS) was being revamped. There was an allocation of R1.1 billion for TMS, of which only 15.7% had been spent. Only 35.2% of the allocation for forensic services had been spent, but some equipment was still to be delivered. The spending on compensation was at 77% and was on track. Of the allocation for the Integrated Justice System, 45% had been spent.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that Programme 2 was Visible Policing. Spending was higher than total spending. Goods and services accounted for 86.8% of the budget. Increases in fuel prices was a major cause of this. Some major policing actions at events such as COP17 had accounted for major expenses. He estimated that the R24.4 billion would be spent almost fully.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that Programme 3 was Detective Services. The spending on forensic science laboratories should be close to annual target as equipment was delivered later in the FY. The total spending was 74.1%, which was in line with the linear expectations.

Programme 4 was Crime Intelligence. Spending at the end of the quarter stood at 75.7% and was on target.

Programme 5 was Protection and Security Services. Total spending to date stood at 71.1%. The operational support item spending was at 65.2%, but this was due to the transfer of personnel to duties with the railways and ports.

In summary, Lt-Gen Schutte said that most programmes were well on target to spending their budget allocations. The only exceptions were in accommodation and building expenses and forensic services. This presentation was a summary of some 800 separate accounts.

Discussion
Ms A van Wyk (ANC) was still waiting for an explanation for the under-expenditure on buildings, which were generally in a poor condition. She also wanted to see what progress was being made on building projects. There was still a shortage of police stations, especially in formerly disadvantaged areas. Some communities in Cape Town were crying out for more SAPS stations. Not all the blame could be levelled at DPW. The mathematics on building leases still did not add up. She foresaw an administrative nightmare developing. The SAPS depended on almost 2 000 invoices a month being delivered timeously. In Mossel Bay, SAPS members had been locked out of the station due to non-payment of the lease. Once again, SAPS had to take some responsibility for this problem. On the CJS revamp, the Committee had warned that clear targets were needed. In the Presidential Review there was a requirement that separate reporting was needed. She wanted to know why there was no movement. There did not seem to be clear evidence. E-dockets might exist in name, but there was no sign of them at SAPS stations that Members had visited. Honeydew was an example, where there was no check on the quality of the e-scanning process. For example, entries were made in red ink which provided a very poor image when scanned. These issues impacted on service delivery. In the first quarter there was severe underspending in terms of personnel. The vacancy rate differed from the figures from other sources. Regarding the payment of pension and retirement benefits, she was hugely surprised that there was not over-spending in this regard. She did not trust the figures offered.

Rev K Meshoe (ACDP) asked why the change in the lease payment system was made. A number of SAPS stations had been closed as a result of non-payment. If lease payments were made in advance, something must have gone wrong. He asked if there had been any investigation. He asked if there was a mechanism to monitor what happened to money forwarded to DPW. He wanted assurance that there would be no more such lock-outs. He asked if SAPS checked on whether payments were being made. Members had been told that transfer payments were mainly for vehicle licences. He asked what other expenses fell into this category, and what percentage the licence payments comprised.

Ms M Molebatsi (ANC) asked why there was so much under-spending on forensic services. She asked when SAPS intended to construct its own buildings rather than pay leases. Computer services had the largest budget, but its spending was only at 10%. Members were always told about the shortage of computers when they visited SAPS stations.

The Chairperson had the performance plan with her. The issue of integrated communications technology (ICT) had been a prominent part of this plan. This included communications and electronic record keeping. She asked what the impact of this under-spending was on the actual performance of the SAPS. It did not help having beautifully written documents if the plans were not being implemented. In terms of capital assert management, she asked if this was still the priority which the SAPS had stated. New buildings and the renovation of existing structures had been stated as a priority, especially the provision of victim support rooms. There seemed to be underspending on machinery and equipment across all programmes. She asked what the impact was on service delivery. The situation on forensic services seemed to be the same as in the past. She asked if there would be fiscal dumping to spend the budget. There was still not enough office accommodation for forensic personnel. She asked how the increased spending on detective services had impacted on crime investigation. She wanted an explanation on specialist services. Spending on civil claims was above budget and she wanted an explanation. She suspected that SAPS were taking cases to court which they could not win rather than settle them, with a resulting heavier settlement being imposed in court. Sixteen projects had been identified. At the following meeting, 21 projects were presented which had not been in the performance plan. She asked how the projects presented to the Committee were progressing. She asked where the budget for petrol was contained. She wondered if the planning was to improve service delivery or just to impress the Committee. The budget increase in the new FY was unprecedented, especially as there was no concrete plan to spend the money.

Mr G Lekgetho (ANC) had visited various SAPS stations. Some of these were little more than shacks. Mayflower was an example. However, there was still underspending on buildings. Only 54.5% had been spent on leases, and SAPS was being evicted from some stations. This situation had to be improved upon.

Mr D Stubbe (DA) said that the third quarter spending on salaries was on par despite the slow start. There was a vacancy rate of 5% in July. He asked if there would be overspending as a result.

Rev Meshoe asked if the spending on detective services was linked to measurable outcomes. Often members of the public reported cases at a SAPS station but nothing more was heard about these cases. There was seldom any follow-up reported. It was nice to put figures on paper, and the figures were commendable, but he needed to see that there was value for money in the budgetary allocation.

Ms van Wyk asked for more details on the biological expenditure, and if this had been planned. It did not seem so to her. Bad debts had been written off and she wanted an explanation. She also wanted to know what was being done to recover debts. The figures might be insignificant to the SAPS but mattered to Members. She asked why nothing had been done to monitor under-expenditure in some of the programmes. The quarterly report was a tool to monitor such trends and correct them early in the FY.

The Chairperson noted that some equipment would only be delivered in the latter part of the FY. However, SAPS stations were complaining that they were not being issued with vehicles. This impacted on service delivery. Some of the vehicles were not suited for the duties to be performed. She asked why vehicle requirements were not addressed at an earlier stage. This matter had been raised many times. It seemed that some top decision-makers were committed to certain manufacturers. She singled out the Tata brand as being particularly unreliable. She asked how much was being spent on basic training as she could not see the figures for this aspect. There was a once-off payment of R1.5 million for dog training, resulting in a significant overspending. She asked why this had been a bulk purchase. She asked why adequate allowance had not been made.

Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi replied that quarterly management forums would be held with the Department to discuss issues and make adjustments. Statistics South Africa had made a commitment to make more regular customer satisfaction surveys. He would make an effort to make himself available to the Committee on a regular basis. It was a pity that the quarterly performance report was not available.

Lt-Gen Schutte noted a number of questions regarding buildings. The different payment systems would bring SAPS in line with the target, but there would still be an underspend. In previous years DPW had kept the accounts. A document, signed by National Treasury (NT) had been produced. However, advance payments did not ensure that DPW was indeed making the payments expected of them. It was also indicated that Supply Chain Management (SCM) would prefer to go over to the monthly payments. DPW had written to SAPS to confirm that they would go over to a monthly system. A list of properties occupied by SAPS was to be provided by DPW. This system had been adopted in July 2011. Only eleven months of payments would be included in the statements. It was a dilemma for SAPS to engage directly with landlords, which was a problem. He did foresee a slight underexpenditure on leases, but the updated figure was already at 77%. In terms of municipal services they should be on target.

Lt-Gen Schutte responded to the question on the amount of administration involved with the building leases. There was more paperwork involved with more reconciliation. Experience showed that until the present, monthly reconciliations were being performed. Some unoccupied buildings had been identified and credit for these would be passed on. There would be more administration involved but the figures would be more accurate.

The Chairperson asked who was doing the reconciliation, as there were two Departments involved.

Ms van Wyk said that there was reconciliation in advance in the quarterly system. Even then, payments were being made for buildings which were not occupied by SAPS.

Rev Meshoe asked what approach would be taken to ensure that the leases were valid. It did not matter to him if the reconciliation was done monthly or over some other period as long as the correct payments were made. He asked what was being done to prevent lock-outs, and what grace SAPS were given by landlords.

Mr M George (COPE) had heard a lot of “ifs” in the presentation. More clarity was needed.

Lt-Gen Schutte said the system seemed to be working. Monthly reconciliation seemed to be more effective. He could not answer for the DPW on the payments to landlords. New enlistments were being employed on a two year basis. Some of the recruits advanced to level 5 status after training. In the first quarter of the FY new members were appointed. The payments for compensation were significantly higher in the second quarter due to salary increases.

Rev Meshoe still did not have an answer. It was wrong for the public to find SAPS stations closed due to non-payment of leases.

Lt-Gen Schutte had indicated that he would answer the question.

Ms van Wyk said that second quarter expenditure was still under 50%.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that the payments were in fact made in the beginning of the third quarter of the FY, although he might be mistaken. He did not have the specific information at hand. There was a contract in place for the vehicles. NT had issued a directive in terms of the preferred manufacturer. Any deviation would have to be negotiated with NT. The document would be provided to the Committee. Some R1.4 billion had been allocated for orders. Some 4 000 vehicles had been paid for while another 6 000 were still expected.

The Chairperson asked how the quality of service was affected by the quality of the vehicles.

Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi asked if NT was concerned about the impact of its instructions on SAPS. Maintenance costs were high but SAPS had to remain within the terms of the contract.

Rev Meshoe asked if the quality of the vehicles was noted by NT. He felt that the Tata brand was particularly unreliable.

Mr George needed to see a copy of the document. He had a problem with the way NT was dictating the terms.

The Chairperson asked when this document had been released.

Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi said that the document was issued annually. Brands were listed in order of preference after prices had been negotiated. There was an escape clause to procure a more expensive brand, but this had to be motivated. Such a motivation would also have to go through the SCM process. SAPS top management would discuss this situation.

Mr Lekgetho said that the Committee needed to speak with NT on this issue.

The Chairperson said that. the issue had been around for some time. SAPS could not provide services without proper vehicles. Provinces were not satisfied with the slow supply of vehicles. The Tata vehicles were in the garage more often than they were on the road. A regular supply of vehicles was needed to the provinces.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that the performance plan would now also include quarterly targets. There would be a greater linkage between spending and targets.

Mr George said that R6 billion had still not been spent in the Visible Policing programme.

The Chairperson reminded the Member that the report was only for the third quarter and the figure quoted was on track.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that most of the civil claims had been settled in court and were paid out in terms of judgements. At one stage SAPS had been criticised for settling too easily. Pension and discharge benefits should be within the budget judged on figures for January and February.

The Chairperson said that further discussion was needed on the civil claims issue. Obvious claims could be settled out of court for lower sums than those that a court might award.

Ms van Wyk said that a proper analysis was needed. One also had to consider the legal fees.

Lt-Gen Schutte said that there was a new system to analyse pending claims. There were studies on past claims but he did not have the details to hand. A lot of claims were in fact cancelled in the process. Basic training was costed separately and he would have to provide a written answer. The figures for HRD, which included all training, were included in the presentation. The overall figure for training was R1.5 billion.

The Chairperson presumed that the figures for training included firearms proficiency training.

Lt-Gen B Mgwenya, Deputy National Commissioner, SAPS, said that the contract with SITA had expired in May 2011. Some of the consultants could no longer continue with their work, which had halted some projects. SAPS had requested SITA to publish some tenders but no service providers were forthcoming. A lot had been allocated to the detention management system. These tenders were being republished. The tender for closed circuit television (CCTV) systems would be republished by SAPS. The Tetra project was financed from internal sources. The system was functioning in Gauteng but a maintenance contract still had to be put into place. The money was ring-fenced. Computers had to be connected to a mainframe. Without this connection, it was futile to provide computers at every police station. The network was old and had a limited carrying capacity. An amount had been set aside to upgrade the network. SITA was busy with this upgrade. Bandwidth would be increased.

Ms Molebatsi asked who would set up the network.

Ms van Wyk had been approached by some of the contractors. No progress was being made in terms of capital works. The situation was now in a mess. The President's itinerary could not be compiled properly due to limited technology. Buildings could be blamed on DPW and networks on SITA. However, there was a fight for political gain between SITA and SAPS. The Standing committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) would intervene again.

The Chairperson reminded SAPS delegation of the sixteen projects that had been published, but Gen Tshabalala had presented the Committee with a list of 21. These had to be costed. After the costing, the number of projects was reduced to twelve. The Committee was waiting for a written response. She listed some of the projects which seemed to have fallen by the wayside. Top management was giving an impression that they were still subject to superior decision makers. She asked why so much was being allocated to SAPS if the money was not going to be used. The delegation represented the highest decision makers in SAPS.

Lt-Gen Bonang Mgwenya said that a new contract was being generated for the body shop project. Some consultants could only be appointed on a three month contract, and would rather work elsewhere. Without a contract they could not be appointed. The SAPS contract would be for one year. The RT569 had expired. Quotations could not cover the whole year. The linking of computers was part of the network upgrading project. Service providers already linked to SITA would perform the upgrade. As police stations were built, provision would be made for members currently using leased offices to move onto SAPS property. Leases were an expensive option.

The Chairperson returned to the sixteen projects. She asked if they would be implemented by SITA or SAPS. The Committee's understanding was they would be implemented by the Department.

Lt-Gen Mgwenya said that they were all SAPS projects. However, they would have to go via SITA in terms of the Act. The SAPS could start the tender process where it was not a service specifically allocated to SITA.

Rev Meshoe wanted to see a plan to move from leased to SAPS property. He asked if there was such a plan in place.

Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi acknowledged that leasing was causing problems for SAPS. SAPS had negotiated with NT to approach private companies to build for SAPS. There had been a problem in this regard in the past, resulting in disciplinary action against the members involved. Once NT authorised such negotiations they would implement projects. SAPS did not have the capacity to build their own structures. The current headquarters building was under investigation and it would be better to build their own structure. It would be inappropriate to give timelines at present.

Lt-Gen A Mofomme, SAPS Deputy National Commissioner, said SAPS was moving away from leased buildings.

The Chairperson said that there was still underspending. She had a picture of the police station at Port Shepstone. The poor maintenance of the building had a negative impact on SAPS members stationed there. In the previous FY SAPS was already behind with their building plan. Those identified for 2010/11 had still not been completed, and there was still underspending. The current FY was almost complete. Renovations had not taken place.

Mr George asked if it would be adviseable to have a programme with time frames. There was no such programme. One needed to be developed. They could not wait for approval before drafting the plan.

Ms van Wyk was perturbed by the picture that was being painted. Members knew what was needed at SAPS stations. Members selected their visits based on information supplied by SAPS and by themselves. The SAPS did not have the capacity to implement projects. The Committee had warned SAPS that this was not their core function. The Tetra system in Gauteng had collapsed. There had been a plan in conjunction with Business Against Crime. There was no maintenance plan for Tetra in the Eastern Cape. She asked how such a huge contract could have been approved without a maintenance plan. Five years after the project had been rolled out in Gauteng, there was no maintenance plan. R600 million had been wasted.

Maj-Gen M Mantsi said some projects were under CJS. The areas of serious underspending was due to tenders not being awarded on time. The integrated motor vehicle tender had been awaiting approval since 2010. There was continual correspondence with SITA with no result. SAPS was obliged to leave this tender in the hands of SITA. The detention management system was in the same situation. SAPS had been told that there were no suitable bidders. A letter was needed from the Committee to enable SAPS to re-issue the tender. SITA had let SAPS down on a number of occasions. In terms of the network, sites had to be prepared. The electronic docket system would be introduced before the end of the month. Some twenty SAPS stations would be included. It was all dependent on the network. Scanned documents were stored on the central computer in Pretoria. It was available to all. A lot of memory was used in the scanning and transmission process. The system could collapse if there was too much data flowing.

The Chairperson was amazed at what she was hearing. The Committee had met with SITA twice in the presence of Gen Tshabalala. They had enthused over their progress. Yet now a different picture was being painted. R3.5 billion had been budgeted for SAPS. She asked why requests had been made for systems when there was no infrastructure in place. Other Departments had to operate on much lower budgets. She wondered who would provide the Committee with the solutions that were needed. She asked who would solve the challenges but for the present delegation. Only 28% of the building budget has been spent. She wanted to know what this meant in practical terms. Members needed to know why this was happening. SAPS was not satisfying its priorities.

Maj-Gen Mgwenya said that there were challenges. An SAPS delegation had attended a meeting the previous day. The deployment of Lt-Gen Mofomme would assist. She had agreed to a meeting with SITA but needed to have a list of all projects so that progress could be discussed. Regarding vehicles, she needed to indicate that during a work session in February, the legal officer should look at the contract with NT and advice management on how to engage with NT. They had heard the complaints raised by Provincial Commissioners.

Ms van Wyk said it had been acknowledged that the problem was within SAPS.

The Chairperson said that the Commissioner had taken over the SCM role. SAPS management as a collective should take the blame for underspending. She asked why SAPS had asked for so much if they knew they could not spend it all. The Committee might still cut the Acting National Commissioner some slack, but other managers had been in their posts for some time.

Maj-Gen Mgwenya had requested a meeting with the Chief Operations Officer to address the challenges of spending. After completing an analysis, Provincial Commissioners had been invited to a meeting to be held the following week. Budgetary needs would be discussed, including human resources and vehicles.

Mr George said that another can of worms was being opened. A new debate was being opened.

The Chairperson said that Members were being prepared for the discussion on performance targets. She still wanted a response on the matter of underspending on buildings.

Maj-Gen Mantsi said that contractors were appointed late for many projects. The situation in Diepsloot was deteriorating daily but there was a legal hurdle. She mentioned various other projects and the problems being encountered. Some contractors had been liquidated since they were appointed. Old graves had been discovered on one site. At another there had been problems with dolomite deposits on building sites. Some projects had started. Some tenders had been issued late. NT had issued an instruction note in May 2011 requiring new assessments and further delays had resulted. SAPS was engaging with the Department. Two projects at Tembisa had been affected by a labour dispute. The Helen Joseph project had been affected by failure of a contractor to supply bricks.

Ms van Wyk requested a list of the problems, even if in writing. In most cases SAPS appointed the contractors. She asked how the credibility of the contractors was being investigated.

The Chairperson endorsed Ms van Wyk's comments. Projects had to be managed. Only 28% of R1.2 billion had been spent to date. It was an enormous amount of money. The Committee needed to know what costs were being occurred. Delays resulted in huge cost increases.

Rev Meshoe still wanted an answer to his question about SAPS being locked out of their stations. A facility in Mitchell's Plain, housing the fingerprint centre, had been locked the previous week.

Maj-Gen M Mantsi, Head: Immovable Asset Management, SAPS, was aware of the lock-outs. DPW had been authorised to proceed with the leases. SAPS received calls from the landlords demanding payment, but the money was going to DPW for payment. That Department had to answer for this as all payments had been made from SAPS side. They had requested numerous meetings with DPW but none had happened to date. The SAPS was not even supposed to communicate with landlords, but they were concerned that SAPS facilities were still being shut down as a result of non-payment of leases. DPW officials were not returning calls.

Ms van Wyk said the answers to this question raised a number of issues. She asked when SAPS knew that the leases would expire so that DPW could be alerted. She was concerned that another presentation was still due and they meeting was running out of time.

The Chairperson understood SAPS frustrations. She requested information on SAPS stations that had been locked due to non-payment. People did not understand that another party was responsible for the situation. The Committee would try to settle the matter with the DPW. It was not possible to proceed with the second item of the agenda. She would suggest a date to Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi.

Lt-Gen Mkhwanazi thanked Members for the opportunity to address the Committee. An infrastructure plan would be drawn up for both construction and renovation. There was a negative impact on service delivery. Management had decided that all budgetary decisions would be made in consultation with the Provincial Commissioners. Some things should be explained better to the Committee.

The Chairperson reminded the delegation of the written responses that were required. These included those on buildings and underexpenditure, excessive sick leave and projects. A meeting had been scheduled with an SAPS officer to brief the Members on proclamations. The Brigadier involved had postponed the meeting repeatedly. A junior officer had been delegated to take the Committee through the proclamations. The meeting had to be adjourned. If this Brigadier cancelled another meeting, thereby wasting Members' time, SAPS would be requested never to send this person to the Committee again. The matter would be communicated in writing.

The Chairperson said that spending patterns in some areas were satisfactory, but in some priority areas more focus and better monitoring was needed. She did not know what to expect on buildings, as the strategic plan was not being followed. Not even a quarter had been achieved even though money had been allocated. Other Departments were in dire need of extra funding.

The meeting was adjourned.