Chairperson, the ANC's 2009 election manifesto was very clear about its intentions in the fight against crime and corruption, and listed this as one of its five priority areas for the period through to 2014. It said the following, and I want to quote the following two paragraphs: firstly, "our fight against crime will be a key priority to ensure safer and more secure communities"; and, secondly, "crime is a major national challenge, and the fight against crime and corruption needs to be stepped up".
The Bill which we are debating today helps strengthen the fight against crime through the creation of a truly independent civilian secretariat. Currently, the secretariat is regulated in terms of the South African Police Service Act. Section 2 of Act 68 of 1995 will therefore be repealed. To further enhance its independence, the civilian secretariat will be financed from monies appropriated by Parliament. The civilian secretariat will play an important role in monitoring the performance of the SA Police Service and the utilisation of the budget by the Police Service.
Each province, through the MEC, will be required to constitute a provincial secretariat. Until now, this has not been a requirement; it has been a choice of provinces. And, in fact, at the moment, only two provincial secretariats exist. This Bill requires that a provincial secretariat be established in every province within 18 months of the enactment of this Act.
The Bill states that the head of the provincial secretariat may not be a member or a former member of the SA Police Service. The reason for this is to further strengthen the independence of the provincial secretariats - the same as for the civilian secretariat.
The term of office of a provincial secretariat is five years, which may be renewed for one additional term only. The functions of the provincial secretariats include the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of policing polices and the evaluation and monitoring of police conduct in each province. The provincial secretariats will be required to submit reports to the MECs, the heads of the provincial departments and the secretaries.
Although the provincial secretariats are appointed by the relevant MECs, in consultation with the Minister of Police, they are not independent institutions. They are required to work closely with the secretaries and meet on a quarterly basis and ensure that there is alignment between the provincial secretariats and the secretary in terms of annual strategic and performance plans.
They also need to discuss the performance of the police in the provinces to identify best practices, detect any failures and recommend steps to be taken to prevent or correct such failures. Where a provincial secretariat is not able to perform its functions properly or cannot fulfil its obligations in terms of the Bill, the Minister, after consultation with the relevant MEC, may instruct the civilian secretariat to intervene in the affairs of a provincial secretariat. These measures will help to ensure that we don't allow a situation to develop in which provincial secretariats become dysfunctional and there is no mechanism for intervention.
One of the important aspects of this Bill is that it ensures co-operation between the civilian secretariat and the recently passed Independent Police Investigative Directorate Bill, IPID. In particular, the civilian secretariat will be responsible for monitoring the implementation by the SA Police Service of recommendations which are made by IPID. It will have to provide the Minister with regular reports on the steps taken by the SAPS to ensure compliance. For the first time we will have a situation in which recommendations of IPID, or the directorate of the SAPS, are monitored, but, more importantly, the SAPS will now be held accountable. We expect the SA Police Service to provide full co-operation in this regard.
Furthermore, the Bill requires that the SA Police Service provides its full co-operation to the civilian secretariat and, where required, to the provincial secretariats. This includes providing the civilian secretariat with the information it will need to be able to effectively perform its oversight function of the SA Police Service, as required in this Bill. The SAPS will also be required to provide the civilian secretariat with the necessary information and support so that it can monitor and evaluate the compliance of the SAPS with the Domestic Violence Act of 1998. This is a new function which is being allocated to the civilian secretariat. Until now, this has been a function that was performed by the Independent Complaints Directorate.
Placing the Domestic Violence Act under the watch of the civilian secretariat will ensure that greater importance is placed on compliance by the SAPS with regard to section 18 of the Domestic Violence Act.
We wish the soon-to-be-established civilian secretariat for the Police Service well in its work. The ANC's manifesto says that by working together we can do more. Therefore, by working together, the civilian secretariat, the SA Police Service and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate can do more to bring about a Police Service that is efficient, effective and free of corruption.
As I conclude, I would like to bid farewell to the hon Debbie Schfer, who has played a very constructive and, I think, important role in the work and deliberations of the Portfolio Committee on Police since she came to Parliament last year. I think it's a great pity that the leadership of the DA has decided to move her elsewhere. But maybe they need her capabilities in another portfolio committee. I just want to say that I have always found it strange that as soon as a member of the DA starts to perform well, constructively and effectively, the DA suddenly moves them away. [Interjections.]
As I conclude, perhaps I could also say to Premier Helen Zille of the Western Cape that she said that she didn't have many women to choose from to fill positions in her provincial executive, but I want to say that I think hon Debbie Schfer would have been an ideal candidate to have in your provincial executive. [Applause.] Chairperson, thanks very much. The ANC supports this Bill. [Applause.]