Chairperson of the session, the Chairperson of the NCOP Ntate Masondo, the Deputy Chairperson, the Minister of Police General Bheki Cele, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services hon Lamola, Deputy Minister Jeffery, the chairperson of the select committee, hon Members of the NCOP, members of the executive council, MECs, present here, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, the National Commissioner General Sithole, the acting-head of the Independent Police Investigation Directorate, Ipid, Ntate Senna, the head of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, NDPP, Ms S Batohi, the leadership of SA Police Service, Saps, present here, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, delivering his second 2019 state of the nation address, President Ramaphosa said that the time for idle talk was over, he emphasised that everything comes down to implementation if the
country is to realise the vision of the National Development Plan. He unambiguously stated that, I quote: "Unless we take extraordinary measures, we will not realise Vision 2030"
We therefore present ourselves before this august House today conscious of the pressure and mammoth service delivery demands facing us on the one hand and the stagnant economy and limited government resources on the other hand. The shrinking public purse implores us to choose certain areas of service delivery above others and we are determined to strike the right balance in this regard.
Chairperson, having said that, we do not intend compromising on our obligation to continue pursuing every effort that will deliver a crime-free South Africa, where the citizenry and everyone within our borders live without fear of being attacked or becoming victim of criminality. As our late national icon, President Nelson Mandela said, I quote:
Safety and security don't just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.
Fighting crime is not the sole responsibility of our men and women in blue but it is our shared responsibility which should be appreciated and acted upon. We are determined to ensure the safety and security of our citizenry and we shall not allow our people to be held at ransom by criminals. Where we are restrained by resources, we will continue to draw on all other stakeholders - as an example at hand - is the deployment of the army to assist in the restoration of peace and order in selected crime-ridden townships within the Western Cape, as the Minister stated. We are also strengthening our overall crime combating interventions to allow ourselves to respond appropriately to all forms of criminality.
Hon members, I am perturbed by the deafening silence around the continuing killing of police officers, but when a police officer kills a civilian even if it is in self-defence, the noise becomes drowning and is almost always accompanied by a plethora of unfounded criticism against government and police management. We cannot continue to bury our sons and daughters who have dedicated their lives to the safety and security of our country. Criminals deliberately target our members for the sake of perpetuating their criminal endeavours. This highest level of criminality cannot be tolerated and we will continue to confront it in every way possible.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us, criminals are applying advanced technologies in the commission of crime and we are determined never to be out-smarted by such criminal enterprises. We are therefore developing system capability to provide daily operation information on prioritised areas and optimise use of daily crime information at all operational levels. Hon members, transport- related crimes are also on the rise and impacting negatively on the economy, hence we are enhancing the policing of such crimes. The damage and theft of trucks and cargo damages not only the road infrastructure, but also affects our economy. The damage to rail infrastructure and trains affect the most vulnerable members of our society and has a negative outlook on our economy. The Saps will therefore conduct high visibility operations in the Metrorail corridors with the focus on serious and violent crimes.
Together with other relevant departments we will put stop to the crime of burning trucks and trains. We will continue to fight corruption regardless of the source. We are tackling corruption head-on and we will ensure that the Anticorruption Task Team shall continue to be enhanced by mobilising stakeholders to support the mandate of the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigation and the priorities of government. The directorate shall also support the work of the Ministerial Committee, in terms of the SA Police Service
Act. We have no room for thugs in the police and we will deal decisively with Saps members who are involved in any form of corruption.
To this effect, we are institutionalising integrity management, including the establishment of an ethics officer capability and the implementation and monitoring of the approved anticorruption strategy, including the prevention, detection and investigation of corruption involving Saps members. We are also prioritising the need to strengthen institutions such as the Independent Police Investigation Directorate, aimed at playing a crucial role in relation to police ethical conduct.
Hon Chairperson, the Ministry of Police will provide the necessary support to Independent Police Investigation Directorate, Ipid, in its attempts to lobby for additional funding required in ensuring that Ipid has the necessary resources and capacity to deliver on its mandate. Thank you, Chairperson. [Time expired.]