SAPS & IPID BRRR recommendations: progress; SAPS Amendment Draft Bill; with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

[The first eight minutes of the meeting was not captured due to technical problems].

South African Police Service feedback on Budget Review and Recommendations Report
Brig Craig Mitchell, Strategic Management: SAPS, gave a progress report on the BRRR recommendations of 25 November 2020:

Recommendation 1 – Audit Action Plan: SAPS has developed an Audit Response Plan for the SAPS 2019/20 predetermined objectives in the Annual Performance Plan (APP) and the Financial Audit. Monthly reports on actions taken to address the audit findings and recommendations of the 2019/20 Audit, will be provided. Quarterly presentations are given on the implementation of the Audit Action Plan, which will address all audits.

Recommendation 2 – Consequence Management for the SAPS Management – Auditor-General Recommendations: The report on actions taken to address Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) findings and recommendations, in respect of the 2019/20 AGSA Audit, includes a request for feedback on the application of consequence management at the various levels of the SAPS. In pursuance of the objective to improve consequence management in the SAPS and subsequent to the issuing of the Compliance Policy in 2020, a National Instruction has been developed for the establishment and functioning of a Compliance Board. The Audit Response Plan on the 2020/21 AGSA Audit includes specific key actions that are aimed at reinforcing the implementation of consequence management, such as establishing Divisional and Provincial Audit Steering Committees (ASC) and Task Teams. The Task Teams will ensure, amongst other things, that appropriate consequence management is initiated to address identified findings. The application of appropriate consequence management will be verified by Task Team Leaders and reviewed by the relevant ASC. The ASCs will coordinate the compilation of Audit Readiness Certificates from identified audit locations for appropriate consequence management to address findings and monitor the outcome of consequence management. The implementation of the Audit Response Plan will be reported to and monitored by the National ASC for the reported information associated with the 2020/21 APP and the Financial Management Services, Supply Chain Management and Technology Management Services audits. The National ASC will report to the Board of Commissioners on the implementation of the Audit Response Plan. The SAPS Audit Committee will monitor the implementation of the Audit Response Plan. The Committee will be provided with a clear indication of the consequence management that has been applied.

Recommendation 3 – Implementation of Proper Record Keeping: National Instruction 21 of 2019 on Archives and Records Management has been issued to all provinces and divisions. Record keeping, in respect of the performance indicators included in the 2020/21 APP, is regulated by various internal controls. Inspections and audits are conducted in relation to various internal controls that relate directly to recordkeeping and associated processes. The Audit Response Action Plan includes various key actions related to ensuring proper record keeping. During November/December of 2020/21, an intervention was initiated during which the Internal Audit Component and the Division: Inspectorate deployed teams to identified stations to assess record keeping. In relation to the Financial Audit, the findings leading to the qualification are related to Auditors not being provided with sufficient documentation, as source documents that SAPS and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) submitted were not acceptable, as the view of AGSA was that it had to contain details such as the bill of quantities. SAPS is in the process of finalising this aspect in that a fair valuation approach will be followed as per National Treasury’s Modified Cash Standard with regard to the valuation of the entire network infrastructure, subsequent to which SAPS will produce the source documents from original equipment manufacturers.

Recommendation 4 – Implementation of Audit-General Recommendations: The recommendation is noted and the Department will present, as requested, on dates determined by the Committee.

Recommendation 5 – Additional Funding for Infrastructure: The delay in the execution of infrastructure projects was due to the change of priorities, non-performance of contractors, community interference, including the impact of Covid-19 on the construction industry. Additional funding for the security upgrades and repair of police stations in 2022/23, including the activation of the provincial top five priorities for the construction of police stations will be made available. The budget for 2021/22 has been fully committed and additional projects cannot be activated due to capacity constraints. The establishment of SAPS provincial maintenance units is being investigated by the SAPS, Component: Organisational Development to enhance the acceleration of the building programme.

Recommendation 6 – Additional Funding for the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL): The budgetary requirements of the FSL were addressed in the 2020/21 financial year and requests for adjustments to the baseline will be considered during the resource allocation process for the 2021/22 financial year once budgets are concluded. The FSL remains a priority for SAPS regarding resource allocation.

Recommendation 7 – Review of Tenders before Sign-Off: SAPS is in compliance with the process prescribed by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999) and the Supply Chain Management (SCM) User Manual: Directives in Respect of Acquisition. These processes are subject to internal and external audit.

Recommendation 8 – Steps to Prevent the Spread of Covid-19 at Police Stations: Steering Committees Meetings are conducted weekly. Ongoing implementation of protocols aligned with the Disaster Management Act Regulations. Covid-19 Steering Committees monitor and assess compliance with protocols monthly and render support and guidance where required. Daily monitoring, analysis and reporting of cases is conducted. Rotation system for personnel is guided by the Lockdown Regulations as to not negatively impact service delivery. Ongoing appointment of Compliance Officers who will supplement compliance monitoring done by Steering Committees. Ongoing distribution of Protective Performance Equipment (PPE) to members to ensure adequate stock levels. Immediate decontamination of affected buildings after a positive case is reported. Ongoing training of members to include relevant updates. Ongoing deep cleaning of offices. Ongoing inspections conducted to ensure compliance with Covid-19 protocols. Provisioning of sick bays in all buildings for members that do not feel well whilst on duty is provided as the need arises. Continuous counselling of members whilst in isolation/quarantine. SAPS works closely with medical aid schemes in providing ongoing support to members infected and affected by the virus. Ongoing reporting of cases, trends, challenges, and new developments. POLMED contracted external service providers in all provinces to assist members who require quarantine and isolation sites, which is still being provided as the need arises. SAPS will develop a Vaccination Roll-out Plan for the organisation in accordance with the timelines stipulated by the Department of Health.

Recommendation 9 – Areas of Underperformance: In terms of Interpol assets, the measurement of the completion of arrests of identified transnational crime suspects facilitated is considered to be finalised. The Division: Crime Intelligence will, therefore, amend the Technical Indicator Description to indicate the successful completion of an arrested suspect once the arrest has been effected. In terms of communication infrastructure, the delay in the finalisation of the radio-communication infrastructure-related bids processes resulted in the reported underperformance. During 2020/21 SAPS did, however, make use of quotations in order to prevent delays in the modernisation of high sites. SAPS will target high sites that can be modernised using the quotation-based approach during 2021/22, however, should the bid process be completed, the completion of additional high sites will be possible. Bi-weekly meetings with all role-players are conducted in order to monitor the bid progress. In terms of detection rates, many actions are in place to address the underperformance. The loss of skilled and experienced investigators through service terminations poses a threat to the functioning of the Detective Service, as it increases the volume of dockets on hand for available investigators.

Recommendation 10 – Addressing Corruption: The Committee will be provided with information, if required, on the action taken by SAPS to deal with internal corruption.

Recommendation 11 – Review and Consultation of the Rural Safety Strategy: The SAPS Rural Safety Strategy was launched on 19 October 2019 and provides a broad strategic framework to address crime in rural areas. During the review of the Strategy, in 2018, extensive consultation took place. In October 2020, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Land Reform appointed a Task Team to review the Rural Safety Strategy to determine whether it is adequate and improve it if necessary. The IMC Task Team engaged in consultation with provincial and local government in December 2020 and with civil society organisations in January 2021. Consultation included agricultural organisations. Feedback on the consultations was presented to the IMC Land Reform Technical Committee on 5 January 2021. The Minister and Deputy Minister of Police have embarked on engagements with rural communities and stakeholders, in which other departments and Ministries were also invited to participate. Community engagements took place in Normandien (KwaZulu-Natal), Senekal/Bethlehem (Free State), and Giyani (Limpopo).

Recommendation 12 – Members Guilty of Corruption and Fraud Related to PPE: There is no record of SAPS employees who have made themselves guilty of PPE fraud and corruption. There are, however, current investigations into the procurement of PPE by the SAPS. The outcomes of these investigations will be promptly reported to the Committee.

Recommendation 13 – Electronic Crime Reporting and Feedback System: The online reporting of crime is being considered as part of the broader process of SAPS to respond to the policing implications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The MySAPS application already allows for crime information or a tipoff to be provided without going to a police station, and for members of the public to obtain information in respect of SAPS services. The police official who opens a docket must determine whether the reported matter constitutes a crime and ensure that the correct crime is identified and registered. The opening of a criminal case requires that the complainant or victim submits a signed affidavit. The admissibility of statements, made and signed through electronic platforms, will have to be established, before SAPS can introduce measures. The current process used for reporting crime also protects against false or fabricated complaints, as perjury charges can be brought. The impediments to introducing an electronic reporting system are not insurmountable, but require careful consideration, consultation, and stringent control measures to guard against false statements and inadmissibility of information provided by complaints. In respect of providing feedback to victims or complainants, SAPS already provides for a SMS to be sent to when a case is registered with the details of the investigating officer allocated to the case. Additional system notification to a complainant was also implemented on 6 February 2021.

Recommendation 14 – Regulation 45 Appointments: Six Regulation 45 appointments were effected during the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 as per the SAPS 2019/20 Annual Report. One Regulation 45 appointment was made during 2020/21. The recommendation by the Committee will be complied with by SAPS.

Recommendation 15 – Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) Assessment of Organised Crime Collusion with SAPS Members: The DPCI currently has 22 cases where organised crime has colluded with 25 police officials. 17 of these cases are currently in court. One case has been finalised where the police official was sentenced.  Four cases are awaiting decision.

Recommendation 16 – Report on Kinnear Case: The Committee will be briefed by the National Commissioner in February 2021 with regard to the outcome of the internal investigation which was concluded on 17 November 2020 and recommendations were made that departmental steps be taken against the identified senior managers. Three senior managers were identified and served with notices. The required functionaries have been appointed to handle disciplinary proceedings. The criminal investigation is being dealt with by the DPCI. IPID was informed of the matter on 1 December 2020, provided with a copy of the report, and subsequently initiated a criminal investigation.

Recommendation 17 – SAPS’ Role in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster to Reduce GBVF: SAPS’ role, in respect of the prevention, combating and investigation of GBVF, is enshrined in the Constitution, SAPS Act and other relevant legislation. The primary roles support the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as an entry point to the criminal justice process, as SAPS serves as an entry point for the victims of GBVF. Many interventions have been introduced to support the implementation of the GBVF National Strategic Plan, including regular capacity building sessions for members and annual compliance inspections. SAPS also works with various stakeholders within and outside of the JCPS structure to prevent GBVF. A GBVF Compliance Assessment Tool was developed and piloted at three stations (Mamelodi East, Hercules and Atteridgevile) during the 16 Days of Activism Programme in November/December 2020. SAPS has an established capability, within the Division: Inspectorate, to manage complaints about services provided by SAPS for GBVF. 185 SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Units have a key role to play in the investigation of GBVF-related cases. The FCS capability ensures continuous engagement with the Department of Justice, during monthly National Technical Interim Steering Committee Meeting on Sexual Offences, to promote cooperation at all levels. The FCS has effective cooperation with Thutuzela Care Centres, the GBVF Command Centre and One Stop Centres in respect of the referral of victims and the investigation of reported cases. As at the end of December 2020 various successes can be reported.

Gen Khehla Sitole, SAPS National Commissioner, provided an overview on the SAPS focus areas.
SAPS’ first focus is on the development of capacity within Crime Detection due to the growing population which has increased the ratio of case dockets to investigators. SAPS is equally enhancing the specialised capacity so that specialised units can take some case dockets and provide relief to GBVF and FCS. The budget and other personnel-related resources are being migrated to police stations so that SAPS is able to capacitate investigations. The second focus area is technology investment with visibility. SAPS is trying to ensure that they bring back a force multiplier approach with an enhanced reservist concept. On the community policing strategy, SAPS also made sure that they recruited more from the community. Lastly, within the framework of investing in visibility, SAPS is intensifying the Safer City and trying to introduce road policing to enhance the visibility response.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked about the capacity building sessions and why they were happening only at the top stations. There should be capacity building sessions at all police stations and not only at the top 30 police stations. In terms of GBVF legislation, she did not think that it was the role of the police because the Department of Justice had already prepared three Bills which they were currently taking through Parliament. The Department of Women, Children, and Persons with Disabilities is also preparing legislation on GBVF. Could clarity be provided on this?

Mr O Terblanche (DA) said that he was very happy to learn about the plans and he thought that it would go a long way to get the scourge under control. He referred to the recent crime statistics and said that apparently the plans had not been fully implemented yet as the crime statistics were still of concern.

The Chairperson noted she had scheduled a Committee meeting to interrogate the crime statistics. She did not believe that the crime statistics should just be presented in the media and not have the Committee interrogate the statistics.

Ms L Moss (ANC) asked if it was possible to have a joint committee meeting on GBVF.

The Chairperson said Parliament, through the Chair of Chairs, Mr Cedrick Frolick, convened those joint meetings on GBVF. She would follow up with Mr Frolick when such a cluster meeting would happen. Mr Frolick had called all of the chairpersons to such a meeting, which included the chairpersons for the Portfolio Committees on Health, Justice, and Women, Children, and Persons with Disabilities. The coordination was happening in the Office of the House Chairperson.

Mr H Shembeni (EFF) asked about the effectiveness of protection orders against GBVF. He had noticed that the protection orders were not taken seriously by men. Usually, when a person had a protection order they would say that it was not going to help them and would not serve a purpose. How could the Committee ensure that protection orders are effective?

On the re-enlistment of experienced detectives, how far is SAPS with this? Experienced detectives were needed as there were a lot of people who could help in this. On provisioning sick bays in police stations, he doubted that there were sick bays. A number of cases were being reported and police stations were being closed every day. The commanders did not take Covid-19 seriously. When a person had Covid-19 symptoms, the commander would leave that person to work with other police members. When the person then tested positive, the commanders forgot about the close contacts and would leave the close contacts to continue working. This meant that the following week, the close contacts would test positive and the police station would keep closing. The commanders were negligent. The Committee had to be serious about this. The sanitising of vehicles was not properly done. Whilst it was done earlier, many instructions were now not being followed in the police stations to stop Covid-19.

Mr M Molekwa (ANC) had a question on the Auditor-General’s findings. What is the reason SAPS did not submit the relevant document to the Auditor-General during the audit? While SAPS was still awaiting the recruitment of student police detectives, what mechanism was there to ensure that the cases were attended to by detectives?

SAPS Response
Gen Sitole replied on capacity building. In terms of SAPS Integrated Resource Management strategy, SAPS was focusing on all 1150 police stations for capacity building. The top 30 police stations were just a dedicated focus group within the strategy and thus constituted one focus area. However, capacity building was focused on all the police stations.

SAPS was responsible for the operationalisation of GBVF legislation. SAPS Secretariat had led the process and the Department of Justice and SAPS provided a feasibility analysis report on the operationalisation process. SAPS was asked to provide inputs from an operational perspective, which was how far they went. However, the promulgation of legislation was outside of SAPS hands.

He agreed with the Chairperson that if SAPS was asked to present the crime statistics, it would be able to give the Committee a better picture. What SAPS normally did after every crime statistics release was to develop a response plan to the crime statistics. The response plan would clearly outline how SAPS was intending to respond to the crime statistics.

SAPS would be directed by the Committee on when it could form part of a joint session with a cluster of parliamentary committees. He was sure that Crime Detection would like to reply on protection orders. However, what he could say up front was that there was a dire need for community education and awareness on protection orders. This was because many people, after obtaining a protection order, then associated with that person again. There was little respect afforded to protection orders and little recognition by those who were the perpetrators. This would be dealt with by SAPS through enforcement and ensuring protection orders obtained respect. However, community education and awareness was a dire requirement so communities were educated. The Community Policing strategy needed to be intensified to enhance the particular response. On closures of police stations, the Coronavirus Steering Committee had been established internally and SAPS was going to deploy the committee to enhance monitoring of police stations. SAPS was going to task the Inspectorate to check on particular police stations. Since the Committee had emphasised consequence management, where there was deliberate omission SAPS would apply consequence management due to the risk to SAPS members' lives.

He had issued clear directives for interim measures for crime detection capacitation while awaiting recruitment. Firstly, it was the current restructuring process and reorganisation of SAPS. There was detective capacity which had been displaced due to promotion opportunities and other related benefits. With the restructuring, those detective skills needed to be migrated back to Crime Detection. SAPS had accumulated a little bit of budget from those functions that were frozen. He had directed that it needed to be shifted to reimbursements. Those reimbursements had to continue to take place to beef up the capacity at present so SAPS could be able to respond.

Lt Gen SC Mfazi, Deputy National Commissioner: Crime Detection, SAPS, said that much had been said by the National Commissioner on the enhancement of SAPS detectives. However, critically so, SAPS area of focus would be more on police stations as the stations were regarded as the core face of crime. On the specialised units, SAPS had moved in establishing the Taxi Violence Units and Task Teams in the affected provinces. On the reconfiguration of the FCS to respond to the GBVF challenges, GBVF might be in the form of abuse that ends up in murder. The murder might be investigated elsewhere but there is the element of GBVF-related crime. SAPS wanted to ensure that when they did the reconfiguration they are able to respond to abuse. If this ended up a murder, SAPS has that capacity within the FCS to investigate those murders. On the specialised units, SAPS needed to migrate former specialised unit members back to those units.

Lt Gen S Khan, Divisional Commissioner of Legal and Policy Services, SAPS, said that the National Commissioner had already responded on SAPS role on GBVF legislation. She reiterated that SAPS played a supporting role.

Lt Gen P Dimpane, Chief Financial Officer: SAPS, said that slide 12 noted the network assets documentation submitted to the Auditor-General, however, the AG had indicated that it lacked detail. When the industry billed SAPS, their billing method did not provide details as it was only a one-line item description on the invoice. SAPS had presented these documents to the AG and these were deemed insufficient. The invoices were available; however, the insufficient details were not acceptable to the auditors. SAPS had gone to Treasury and it had advised the fair valuation approach. SAPS was in the process of correcting this by applying the fair valuation approach, which was acceptable in terms of the Modified Cash Standard as provided by National Treasury.

Mr Terblanche was glad that the National Commissioner had touched on re-enlistment. The Committee had sent through quite a few questions to Head Office on re-enlistments as people were contacting the Committee to get clarity on this. The Committee had not been able to get a response from SAPS Human Resources division. Could clarity be provided on this?

The Chairperson said that the previous day she had asked the Committee not to write directly to SAPS. The problem was not because these were no straightforward questions but a number of Members were asking questions which had a political connotation. She asked Members please to direct their questions through the Committee Secretariat. SAPS had been complaining that they were inundated with questions from Members and the Committee would thus manage the flow of questions to Gen Sitole and the other officers.

Gen Sitole thought that the responses indicated that SAPS was going to intensify the processes that they had outlined. For the recruitment process, SAPS was first clarifying and correcting the training. This was because, immediately after recruitment, those employees had to go through the training. The Covid-19 Steering Committee was working together with the Human Resources Development division. SAPS was at an advanced stage to unlock the whole recruitment process so they could proceed. SAPS was still working together with Treasury through the CFO to adopt the budget process. Soon SAPS would have a clearer direction and answers.

The Chairperson was happy that the Committee had this follow up to the BRRR. She was sure that Members would agree with her that it gave the Committee an indication that, certainly, work was ongoing and very good work was being done. It gave Members an opportunity to understand that Committee recommendations were taken very seriously and that Gen Sitole, SAPS, and his team do respond. She thanked SAPS for following through on the Committee’s recommendations.

IPID Presentation
Ms Jennifer Ntlatseng, IPID Executive Director, provided an overview of IPID’s progress on implementation of the BRRR recommendations, which included the audit action plan for 2019/20. Ms Suzan Letlape, Director: Strategy & Performance Monitoring, IPID, took the Committee through the concerns raised in the BRRR and IPID’s responses.

IPID will report on a quarterly basis on the implementation of the audit action plan and the BRRR recommendations. Out of the 31 audit findings, five have been fully implemented, 23 are in progress and three are not due yet. Total workload by end of Quarter 3 was 11 574 with 4 684 new cases that were registered since April 2020. Implementation of catch-up plans during Quarter 3 improved performance across all programmes. Investigations of 2 333 cases was completed which is inclusive of current and backlog cases. Performance is continuously being monitored on a weekly basis. IPID continues to lobby for additional budget to address the reported constraints.

Internal controls have been strengthened through weekly performance monitoring and interventions where required. There are bi-weekly budget control committee meetings to assess the spending trends and reprioritise the budget. IPID engaged both National Treasury and AGSA on optimalisation of immediate personnel to prioritise the core business. There is regular monitoring of progress on the implementation of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) approval plan, including prioritisation of Case Management System.

Recommendation 1: The Committee recommends that the Minister and Department fast-tracks the IPID Amendment Bill by the end of the financial year. By the end of the 2019/20 financial year the Committee Bill had been processed through the Portfolio Committee and the NCOP. The Committee Bill was assented to by the President on 25 May 2020 and was published on 3 June 2020. Subsequent to that, the process of redrafting and reviewing the 2017 Bill (Extended Bill) recommenced on 30 July 2020. The State Law Advisors were approached to ensure that the Bill complied with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Their inputs were considered and amendments made. Thereafter the Bill was submitted to the office of the Minister for consideration and approval to conduct consultation on the version submitted to the Minister.

Recommendation 2: Develop an audit action plan. The audit action plan was drafted, which indicates the strengthening of internal controls and regular inspections, and verifications by supervisors and provincial management.

Recommendation 3: IPID implement the decision to improve the quality of investigations and evidence presented to the NPA to prevent high rate of decisions to decline prosecutions. IPID consider prosecutor-led investigations into police criminality. IPID is strengthening the supervision of cases through the training of supervisors. IPID is encouraging investigators to get guidance from prosecutors during the course of the investigation. IPID and the NPA are continually having discussions to address various aspects of investigations and referred cases for decision.

Recommendation 4: IPID finalises criteria for the prioritisation of cases and seek assistance with the development of such criteria. IPID had discussions with the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) with the view to improve the criteria for prioritisation of the cases. APCOF is committed to assist IPID with the development of a Barometer (a tool to be utilised for the prioritisation of cases. The review of the IPID Investigation Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will in the interim be reviewed to provide for guidelines on the prioritisation of cases pending the development the Barometer. Corruption will remain a priority.
This will also speak to the definitions of cases such as Cases of Gender Based Violence and Femicide and those against children, elderly and people living with disabilities are those to be considered as urgent in particular in relation to death, rape and torture cases.

Recommendation 5:  IPID finalises its accommodation and moves to its new offices by the end of 2020. As of the 11th of February 2021, the refurbishment of the new building is at 98% complete. The total cost is currently estimated at R5 075 724.50. IPID has made a commitment to relocate by end of March 2021.

Recommendation 6: Vacant posts filled before the end of the financial year. IPID re-prioritised the positions in the core function which resulted in the extensive review of the current vacant positions to ensure the optimal utilization of the limited resources. Fourteen investigator positions were created to address the high number of cases. The posts will be advertised soon. It is also embarking on a youth development programme for the appointment of unemployed graduates to provide students with necessary workplace experience and skills in the administration field that would contribute positively to their employment opportunities.

Recommendation 7: IPID management implements the ICT plan before the end of the 2020/21. Due to budgetary constraints, some ICT activities had to be put on hold. Currently the implementation is at 40%. IPID is pursuing two more projects by end of 2020/21. The priority is to upgrade bandwidth for data line to improve speed and network capacity. Investigators will be able to complete more cases as the network line will be bigger to transmit more workload.

Recommendation 8: IPID management put in place a docket inspection system with appropriate timeframes for regular inspections of all dockets prior to finalisation of such dockets. Inspection of dockets is a requirement in existing policy (SOP) through the Brought Forward (B/F) system. Provincial management will be amended to include quarterly inspection of all their workload to ensure compliance with the B/F system. Internal Audit and Integrity Strengthening Unit also conduct ad hoc inspections of dockets to assess compliance with SOP.

Recommendation 9: IPID put measures in place to curb overspending in the Legal and Advisory Services Programme. In 2019/20 there was no overspending as actual expenditure was 99.49%. Currently, by the end of January 2021, expenditure was at 77%.

Recommendation 10: Committee supports the initiative of the Executive Director for a turnaround of IPID and will reassess the implementation of plans at end of Quarter 3 of 2020/21. Catch-up plans were developed and implemented during Quarter 3 to improve performance. Performance has progressively improved with overall departmental performance of 40% in Quarter 2 and above 60% in Quarter 3.

Recommendation 11 IPID investigators are sent for training before the end of the financial year. IPID has trained 57 investigators in both GBVF and firearm training in 2020/21.

Recommendation 12: Clean audit. IPID is working hard towards achieving a clean audit by strengthening compliance and control deficiencies.

Recommendation 13: IPID develops a comprehensive report on fruitless and wasteful expenditure by the end of January 2021. A comprehensive report was prepared and presented to the Financial Misconduct Committee, who evaluated the reported cases and made recommendations to the Executive Director. The Committee will be provided with the report that includes the Financial Misconduct Committee recommendations and actions taken.

Report on IPID Audit Action Plan
Ms Vivian Selauli, Director: Internal Audit, IPID, provided a summary of its Audit Action Plan at the end of Quarter 3 2020/21 to deal with the Auditor-General's 31 findings. For the majority of findings, IPID has seen much improvement due to the action plan. The findings raised were more administrative issues. IPID has had continual engagement with management to ensure that in their quest to obtain a clean audit they found themselves without any spots (see document).

Discussion
The Chairperson said it was the second time that there was technical glitches from IPID and it was partly inaudible. She asked Gen Sitole and the Deputy Minister of Police to ensure that whatever unit came to present had checked its gadgets before coming to the Committee.  

Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale replied that this time Ms Ntlatseng had tried her best and had gone to the SA Reserve Bank Conference Centre that hosted meetings for the state during Covid-19. This meant that if there was a problem it had to be dealt with at the Reserve Bank as it was a reflection of the state’s incapacity to provide an appropriate service. However, he heard what the Chairperson was saying and it had to be discussed if the IPID Executive Director and SAPS National Commissioner could not share the platform that SAPS used. Challenges were experienced from time to time at the centre SAPS was but it was generally manageable and their presentation was heard. Ms Ntlatseng and her team would need to work with SAPS.

He did not want to belabour the point but he had spoken to Ms Ntlatseng that morning before the meeting started and both Ms Ntlatseng and he had been confident there would not be glitches as she had gone to the conference centre where even Cabinet presentations were delivered. However, the experience today had not gone as expected. SAPS and IPID leadership took responsibility for this and would go back to the drawing board and ensure they dealt with the IT problem. They had not expected the challenge and were equally surprised as Ms Ntlatseng had told him that they would not experience IT problems as they were operating from the Reserve Bank. However, IT had failed them again.

The Chairperson said that the Committee would accept the explanation as she saw that IPID was at the Reserve Bank. However, Members had been complaining that they did not hear anything. She apologised to the Members and thanked Ms Ntlatseng for attempting to address the technical problems. The Committee was patient and knew that IPID was doing their best. She thanked the Deputy Minister for facilitating the presentation and said that they were all in it together and that she was sure that the problem could be solved together.

Ms Faku commented that the Committee appreciated the progress that had been made thus far on the BRRR recommendations. One could see that there was a lot of improvement, especially with the audit action plan which would be monitored on a weekly and monthly basis – which was very good. In addition, IPID had to be applauded as there was a huge improvement in the case backlog. She had no questions on the presentation. When Ms Ntlatseng had last presented, she had told the Committee just to give her some time and one could now really see that she was doing her utmost best and it was appreciated.

The Chairperson could see that significant progress had been made. If the Committee had these follow up meetings after the BRRR, they were able to address the shortcomings way ahead of time. She had asked that the Committee have regular reports from the Auditor-General. The Office of the Auditor-General had indicated to her that they were still busy with the work but as soon as they were ready with the first set of audited documents they would come to the Committee.

Draft South African Police Service Amendment Bill, 2020
The Chairperson said the Draft SAPS Amendment Bill was the first draft which the Minister had taken through Cabinet. It had gone out for its first set of public inputs and consultation. After that it would go back to Cabinet before was introduced in Parliament and it came to the Committee. She had requested that the Committee receive a presentation on the Draft Bill. This was so Members could thoroughly interrogate the first draft, send her their recommendations, amendments, or additions, and the Committee could see how much of it the Minister could include so that by the time the Bill came to the Committee they did not have lengthy questions, additions or changes that need to be made. This would assist the Committee in saving time and assist the Minister with understanding what it is that the Committee expects of the Bill. She was not going to take comments or questions as the presentation was for noting. She told the Deputy Minister that she would receive the comments and forward it to him as he was supervising the legislation processes for the Minister. She hoped that the Deputy Minister found this in order.

Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale confirmed that it was in order.

Mr Alvin Rapea, Secretary of Police, Civilian Secretariat for Police Service (CSPS), provided an introduction and Dr Philip Jacobs, Head: Legal Services, presented a briefing on the background, shortcomings of SAPS Act 1995, the Bill clauses, public comment, further processes and estimated timeframes, and legislative programme.

Cabinet approved the Bill and it was published in the Government Gazette. A media plan was activated jointly with the publication of the Bill. Media statements were made to ensure proper feedback from the public. The initial target date for comments was 14 November 2020 and this was extended until 27 November 2020.

The SAPS Act was drafted before the 1995 Constitution was adopted, and requires a full review and alignment with the Constitution. Numerous government policies had been developed and required integration into the Act for effective implementation. The professionalization and integrity of the Service required attention. The Act requires alignment to give effect to the unconstitutionality of some provisions in accordance with the Helen Suzman Foundation/Glenister Constitutional Court judgment. The Farlam Commission into the events at Marikana recommended an international panel of experts to advise and be appointed by the Minister. The panel was appointed and provided a report to the Minister on proposals for SAPS Act and Regulation of Gatherings Act. The adoption of the CSPS Act in 2011 necessitated alignment of SAPS Act as well as the proposed transfer of functions for control and oversight over the Community Police Forums (CPFs) and Boards and strengthening community policing as envisaged in the National Development Plan and the White Paper on Policing, 2016. In the Mlungwana judgment, the non-notification of intended gatherings under the Regulation of Gatherings Act was decriminalized. Amendments are proposed to address the operational concerns raised by the Mlungwana judgment. Issues such as integrity testing, lifestyle audits and conflict of interests are not addressed in the SAPS Act. Community policing and the oversight of the CPF over the police service need to be enhanced. The coordination between the police service and municipal police service needs to be improved based on the concept of a single police service and provided for in section 206(7) of the Constitution to enhance the framework of the municipal police service. There is a need to strengthen the penalties in the SAPS Act and to provide for new offences such as false reporting to the police and abuse of uniforms and police equipment to commit crime.

The appointment of National Commissioner by the President and Provincial Commissioners by National Commissioner in consultation with the Provincial Government, provided for in sections 207(1) and 207(3) of Constitution, are not affected by Bill and the constitutional provisions are cross-referenced.

Clause 2 – Proposal to insert new sections under ‘Purpose’: “1A. The purpose of this Act is to— (a) provide for a professional Service in terms of integrity, accountability and legitimacy; (b) uphold and protect the rule of law and ensure good discipline and ethos associated with a professional Service; and to (c) address the need for a dedicated capability to provide the quality and type of crime analysis and analytical products that would allow the Service to respond, both tactically and strategically, to crime challenges in the most effective and efficient manner.” and “1B. Members shall deal with the public with dignity and respect the rights of the public, especially the rights of women, children and persons with disabilities.” 1B was strengthened in respect of SAPS members by empowering the Minister to make regulations supplementing the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases  Act, 1993, in respect of disability of employees of the police service.

Clauses 3, 4, 5, and 6 – Clause 3 is a technical amendment. Clause 4 provides for the repeal of sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Act. Clause 5 inserts a new provision which incorporates the duty of the Minister to determine a national policing policy, as required by the Constitution. Clause 6 provides for the establishment of SAPS as the single police service referred to in the Constitution.

Clause 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 – Clauses 7 and 8 are technical amendments. Clause 9 changes the naming of the “Board of Commissioners” to “Management Forum”. Clause 10 deals with the setting out of the responsibilities of the National Commissioner and Clause 11 deals with the setting out of the responsibilities of the Provincial Commissioner which are at this stage still provided for in the transitional provisions of the Constitution with reference to the 1993 Constitution.

Clause 12 – Refers to the use of force: It is recommended that no automatic rifles may be used in crowd control and lethal force not to be used for protection of property only. The word “only” inserted in text of the Bill. Force which is reasonably necessary and proportional may be used. Reporting by a member on use of force in relation to admissibility of self-incriminating statements, searching of trains, and deployment of police officials to comply with international obligations and disciplinary measures and jurisdiction of the South African Courts. The High Court found section 13(7)(c) of SAPS Act, 1995 unconstitutional in a judgment of 29 June 2020 and ordered amendment thereof in 24 months, which is addressed in clause 12(d).

Clause 14, 15 and 17 – Clause 14 provides additional purposes for which fingerprints may be used, including vetting, integrity testing and lifestyle audits. Clause 15 proposes to include recruits to a municipal police service to submit a buccal sample for DNA testing. Clause 17 provides: “National public order capacity, when deployed in a Province, to operate under national command and control.” Additional criteria for deploying the national public order capacity reads: “Minister, in consultation with Cabinet, may approve deployment of the national public order capacity in Province.”

Clause 27 and 28 – Clause 27 deals with mero motu investigations by Judge for the DPCI. It provides for the issuing of summons by the Judge, sanctions for not complying with it, and appointment of office manager and personnel for the judge. Clause 28 inserts Chapters 6B and 6C on establishment of specialised units and of the Intelligence Division of the police service.

Clause 32 – Empowers the Minister to make regulations for the roles, functions, duties and obligations, requirements for appointment, and disciplinary matters in respect of Deputy National and Divisional Commissioners.

Clauses 37 and 45 – Clause 37 provides for: integrity testing for all recruits, lifestyle audits in respect of any member, and taking and keeping of fingerprints of members of the Service on a Personnel database for integrity testing and lifestyle audits. The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) supports these provisions which are aligned with departmental initiatives. Clause 45 reads: “The National Commissioner shall establish a disciplinary system within the Service which involves dedicated, properly qualified and trained units to perform functions related to presiding officers and disciplinary officers."

Clauses 51 to 61 – These Clauses strengthen framework for the establishment of the powers, functions, and control of municipal police services as provided for in section 206(7) of the Constitution. It aims at improved cooperation between the police service and municipal police services provided for, with proposals to add the function of first-responders to law enforcement of protest gatherings and demonstrations. Requires establishment of Municipal Police Service in consultation with National Commissioner and appointment of a Chief after consultation with him.

Clauses 63 to 69 – Strengthening of existing crimes, new crimes on making of false reports, and increasing the penalties of existing offences.

Clauses 74 to 78 – Amending the definition of “police” in the Regulation of Gatherings Act to include adequately trained municipal police service members to act as first responders and align the Act with the use of force provisions in line with similar proposals for amendment of SAPS Act. Effect is given to the Mlungwana Constitutional Court judgment - decriminalization of not giving notification of the organizing of a gathering - to address the gap in law enforcement.

Clauses 80 to 85 – Concerns the transfer of support and oversight over community policing and oversight thereof to Provincial Secretariat for Police Service. National community policing board is established. Regulations by the Minister provided for. Also deals with: Establishment and functioning of neighbourhood patrolling and neighbourhood watch associations to be registered with CPFs; Establishment of CPFs; and Establishment of district community policing boards.

Clause 85 – inserting Section 17A in the CSPS Act, 2011, provides that ─ “The provincial secretariats shall, in consultation with the MEC, facilitate the allocation of funds and resources for the effective functioning of CPFs and community policing boards. The resources and budget allocated shall be informed by the tasks, activities, and programmes that the CPFs and community policing boards are required to undertake.” Proposed section 17A(4) of the CSPS Act provides: “The Minister shall prescribe a funding model, and payment management system aligned to the Public Finance Management Act and any other legal requirements which shall— (a) lay down requirements and criteria for eligibility of funding of projects of the CPFs and community policing boards; and (b) a verification system in terms of reports and documentation required for consideration of funding of the activities of the CPFs or community policing boards.”Proposed section 61(2) of CSPS Act provides: “Members of CPFs and community policing boards shall render their services on a voluntary basis and shall have no claim to compensation solely for services rendered to such forums or boards.” Proposed section 17A(5) CSPS Act provides: “Notwithstanding the provisions of section 61(2), the Minister may, in consultation with the Minister of the Executive Council and the Minister of Finance, determine stipends which may be paid in respect of prescribed functions performed by CPF and community policing board members in respect of prescribed functions.”

Following publication of the invitation for public comments, nationwide public awareness meetings were convened and hosted in all nine provinces. Thirteen meetings were held, covering all provinces from 24 October until 16 November 2020. Stakeholders, including the police, CPFs, municipal and metro police services, provincial departments, community safety members, members of the public and civil organisations attended the public awareness meetings. During January 2021, the Task Team responsible for drafting the Bill considered the public comments. Some comments with high level policy implications are being followed up and are still under consideration.

On estimated time frames, SAPS plans to submit the Bill to the Chief State Law Advisor for provisional certification and liaise with the Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation on the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS) report by 28 February 2021. The aim is to obtain the Minister’s approval to submit the Bill through the JCPS Cluster to Cabinet for approval for introduction in Parliament by 15 April 2021. Subject to JCPS Cluster approval, it will submit the Bill to the JCPS Cabinet Committee by 10 June 2021. Subject to JCPS Cabinet Committee approval, it will submit the Bill to Cabinet by 23 June 2021. The aim is to obtain a final certification of the Bill by the Chief State Law Advisor by 31 July 2021 and thereafter, gazette the Minister’s intention to introduce the Bill in Parliament. Estimated introduction of the Bill in Parliament is therefore 31 August 2021. The SAPS Amendment Bill is on government’s 2021 Legislative Programme to be dealt with as a priority.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked for a full copy of the Bill as it currently stood for the Committee. This was so Members could forward their comments to the Committee Secretariat. This would assist CSPS before it went to Cabinet with the next draft.

Ms Faku said she supported the Bill but sought clarity on section 17A(4) where it spoke about the CPF. She needed clarity especially where it said that the Minister would look for a funding model to fund or pay the CPFs. 

Mr Maphatsoe needed clarity on the proposed railway police. He did not understand it well, although he supported it. Could it be included in the SAPS Amendment Bill because, if the opportunity were missed, another chance might not be received immediately? It was part of the Committee’s priorities that the amendment be processed as a matter of urgency. Secondly, he supported that the Single Police Service should be implemented. If the Amendment Bill is implemented as a matter of urgency, it would mean that the municipal and metro police would be able to do some of the work that they could not presently do when they arrived at a crime. Thus the amendment spoke to their training being in line with the police service. If the metro police arrived first at the crime scene, they could not do anything as they were not trained in it. As the training would be the same as SAPS, the amendment would enhance the work of the police and reduce corruption that was sometimes happens with the tampering of crime scenes.

He asked about the Single Police Service as the appointment of the Municipal Chief of Police was done in consultation with the National Commissioner. If he understood the amendment, the Single Police Service meant the metro police would either come with their budget or police would have a single budget that included the metro police. He wanted to understand this. The appointment of the Municipal Chief of Police was in consultation with the National Commissioner and he was not sure what was meant by 'consultation'. The Committee had to remember that it was its priority for the Bill to be introduced in Parliament by the end of the year.

The Chairperson asked that Members put all their recommendations in writing that they had not had a chance to place before the drafting team. The comments which Members had made now would be considered. The Committee would be working hand in glove with the Minister and Deputy Minister so that most of their recommendations and comments would be considered and included. The Committee should have a sense of satisfaction that not too many changes are needed once the Draft Bill is approved by Cabinet. It had to be remembered that the Committee still had to hold public hearings once the Bill is sent to Parliament.

Deputy Minister response
Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale said that the Chairperson had summed up everything quite well. The drafting team would cooperate so that when the final submission is made to the Executive, what Members had raised would be taken into consideration. It helped and enriched the process of law making. This would be one of the best pieces of legislation to have been processed as a committee as even the consultation process that had unfolded in the course of drafting the Bill enriched it. He thought that CSPS would be happy to receive inputs from Members. However, the inputs would need to be done quickly so that they are not overtaken by events as outlined in the presentation for the process to be followed from the now until approval by Cabinet. If there was an input that is missed in the process, it would find expression when the Bill came to Parliament and the Committee would take it from there. CSPS would work very closely with the Committee led by the Chairperson. If there were concerns, these should be communicated so that everything was taken on board and nothing fell by the wayside. He thanked Mr Rapea and his team for the briefing.

Chairperson closing remarks
The Chairperson asked the Deputy Minister to communicate to the Minister and National Commissioner that since the Committee had started meetings this year, they had had presentations of a very high standard. She thanked Mr Rapea and his team, as well as the National Commissioner, Minister and Deputy Minister. If the same standard could be kept, they would really be in a good position. This Bill should be the legacy of this Committee and they wanted to get it right. The Committee was there to support CSPS and were not there only to criticise them. Their role was oversight and to ensure that the Bill would be around for a long time. The Committee did not want the Bill to come back for amendments or be sent back to Parliament by the President. This would be the Committee’s first opportunity to amend the SAPS Act since the adoption of the Constitution. This was part of the history of the country and the Committee would be making history in amending the SAPS Act for the first time. If Members had further inputs, she urged them to send these to her and she would see they were given to the Ministry. The Committee had had very good sessions both the previous day and today and she asked that they continue with this standard and keep up the good work.

The Committee adopted two sets of minutes. The Chairperson said that the Committee would not allow minutes to be older than two weeks. Minutes had to be adopted within two weeks after the meeting happened.

The meeting was adjourned.