Deputy Speaker, the reply to the question is that the new ranks of lieutenant and major have been introduced as part of the new ranks structure that was promulgated on 1 April 2010 in terms of Government Notice R254, dated 1 April 2010.
No promotion and/or appointment to the ranks of lieutenant and major have been effected, owing to the fact that the promotion criteria, as well as the salary scales of the two new ranks, are subject to collective bargaining. In this regard, a draft collective agreement is on the table of the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council, pending implementation thereof by the parties to council, signing it as a collective agreement.
The proposal by the department regarding the criteria and the salary scale has been tabled with the council, and the unions are consulting around this proposal. They will revert back to us as soon as they have finished their consultation. Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister for his reply. When these new ranks were announced and the portfolio committee at the time was briefed, we were informed that part of the reason for introducing these new ranks was to widen the scope for promotions within the SA Police Service.
I would like to know, firstly, if that is still the view of the department. Secondly, when can we expect the negotiations on those processes at the bargaining council to be completed? Thirdly, I would like to ask if we could not have completed these processes before we actually tabled these new ranks, so that we could have then implemented them straightaway. Thanks very much.
Hon member, yes, as indicated, the promotion issue is part of what has been raised within the council itself. When it is finalised within the council will depend on the two parties to this matter in this particular process. As to whether it should have been done beforehand, I think that would be a matter for debate. Thank you very much.
Minister, your National Police Commissioner is best known for flouting SA Police Service regulations by bouncing certain people up the ranks above SAPS members with extensive experience. Your spokesperson said, when you reintroduced these apartheid-era ranks, that it was to instil discipline. And yet the two lowest ranks within which the most ill discipline occurs were not changed. Could you please explain that? It has never been explained to me to any satisfaction, or did your spin doctor simply do a complete 360?
Deputy Speaker, I am not going to deal with the peripheral matters. The fact still remains that one of the areas, as part of the two-pronged approach in the fight against crime, was to ensure that first and foremost we instilled discipline, but in the fight against crime we must be as tough as possible. Therefore the issues of the lower ranks the member is talking about have not been the main focal area here.
What has been the focal area, if you could listen, was the purpose of introducing the two ranks we have spoken about. I am just answering that question as a courtesy, because in the main, we are dealing with two ranks: major and lieutenant. I have answered it anyway. Thank you very much. See also QUESTIONS AND REPLIES.