Chairperson, the Ministry of Police is asking taxpayers to continue paying the salaries of 1 448 convicted criminals, month after month, after they have finally admitted that there were indeed, as the DA has been saying for the past seven years, criminals working in the SA Police Service, SAPS. We are talking about 54 murderers, 37 rapists and others who were found guilty of attempted murder, corruption, theft, housebreaking, robbery, terrorism, drug trafficking, arson and a whole lot more, such as kidnapping and driving drunk. All of them were promoted, one to the rank of brigadier general.
Add to that the fact that the staff who advised the new Minister could not tell him, or chose not to tell him, how many SAPS members have been convicted of criminal offences in the past year. Who knows how many more criminals this money will support as they use SAPS vehicles and firearms to commit these crimes?
Just this morning, we found out that only 40 out of 516, or 8%, of SAPS officers found guilty of aiding escapees have in fact been dismissed. We ask again, how is it that SAPS personnel who have already been convicted are still on the job?
This current governing party disbanded the most successful crime-fighting unit this country has ever had, the Scorpions, with its astounding conviction rate. There were no criminals in those ranks; neither did they drag Mido Macia to his death, nor did they murder Andries Tatane, and yet we have not heard a single ANC politician suggest that we should disband the SAPS and start again. Meanwhile, we have uncovered the fact that R153 million was frittered away on irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure between 2009 and 2014.
The Department of Police has repeatedly displayed utter contempt for the public's funds. How could we possibly support paying more money from the public purse, to be frittered away or, worse yet, to pay the salaries of criminals? The DA rejects this Vote and calls for a division. Thank you. [Applause.]