So were half of your caucus. Because of that, the majority of our people saw the SA Police as their enemy. This is an important aspect to remember, as changing this perception and transforming the SAP from an undemocratic force into a service that treats all people, irrespective of race or class, equitably was one of the biggest challenges of a democratic government. [Applause.] Since 1994, a number of key milestones were achieved to move towards a democratic, people-orientated service. After 1995, the previous 11 agencies, the SAP and the 10 homeland agencies and nonstatutory forces were rationalised and incorporated into the new SA Police Service, the new SAPS. The numbers of the new SAPS increased to 140 848 members.
This brought its own challenges in terms of different levels of training, various organisational cultures and the transformation from a semi-military force to a service that is community-orientated. The very people that were previously treated as the enemy of the SAP now played a pinnacle role in a policing philosophy based on community involvement.
In 1995, a seven-point plan was announced to improve the effectiveness of policing. The plan focused on the redeployment of resources, human and material, improving visible policing, providing police stations in all the high-crime areas with the required logistics so that their effectiveness can be improved, and arresting the most wanted suspects. The border control functions were restructured and the use of technology was enhanced. A policy of setting tougher bail conditions for serious crimes was also adopted.
In February 1995, a 10-point community policing programme was launched, which was the first of the two to transform the police. This included, amongst others, the implementation of effective labour relations. Schedules and shifts were rotated to ensure that black members are not assigned inferior jobs. At the same time a redistribution of resources took place to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources, and a move from overresourced police stations to underresourced stations took place.
On 1 December 1995, a new rank structure was introduced that heralded a visible and concrete break with the militaristic police culture of the past. In May 1997, the moratorium on police recruitment was lifted. At the end of October 1997, a newly adopted code of conduct was signed for the first time. In 1999, the transformation and integration of the SAPS received a boost with the appointment of several new commissioners aimed at creating a representative police management.
In November 2001, sector policing was introduced in 145 focal points. The aim was to improve reaction time and visibility. This approach has already reaped benefits. In 2002, the SAPS launched the e-docket system. We will talk more about that. We now have the best and most modern forensic science laboratory in the world. [Applause.]
In 1972, women were allowed, for the first time, to enrol in the SAPS on an equal basis with men. [Applause.] In 2013, through the leadership of the ANC, the SAPS is led by a woman. [Applause.] In 2000, 8,36% of officials were female; today we stand at 20,38%. [Applause.] We need to recruit even more women as they will change the approach towards policing.
Our police service made significant gains in gender equality. Today, under the ANC-led government, we can celebrate five female pilots in the SAPS Air Wing ... [Applause.] ... three female operators in the Special Task Force; 29 female forensic science analysts, and not one, not two, but 14 female bomb technicians in the explosives unit. [Applause.]
In 1984, there were a mere 848 police stations in South Africa. Under the leadership of the ANC, in 2013, we have increased this number to 1 133 police stations across South Africa. [Applause.] In 1985, the ratio between police and population was 1,4 per 1 000. Twenty years after democracy, under this ANC rule, the ratio is one operational police officer per 303 members of the public. [Applause.] This is one of the best ratios in the world today.
In 1994-95 the budget of the SAPS was R7 billion. In 1999, the private security industry's profit was more than the total of the SAPS's budget. Today, under the leadership of this ANC, we are considering a budget of R67 billion. [Applause.] It is important, although uncomfortable for some, to acknowledge these gains and to celebrate these victories.
I will be dealing with the administration programme and the visible policing programme. Hon Sibiya will deal with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate; hon Lekgetho with protection and security services and crime intelligence; and hon Molebatsi with detectives.
The administration programme received the largest increase of all programmes and has a budget of R17,3 billion. According to the budget allocation in this programme, a significant increase in the spend in the building environment was highlighted. We welcome the plan to increase the spend on police accommodation and would urge the department to speed up the refurbishment specifically of police barracks. We have visited some of these and they are in a general state of disrepair. If we expect the best of our police personnel, then we must address their living conditions.
The ANC welcomes the Minister's announcement that human rights training will be reintroduced in the basic training of police recruits. The ANC believes that this should form the basis of all training within the SAPS. Our constitutional democracy is underpinned by a Bill of Rights. That is the type of policing that we expect. We believe that it forms the basis for the police to understand the way that they should police. They are implementers of the law. They are not beyond the law, neither are they the law.
Every incident where a police officer acts outside the boundaries of the law is totally unacceptable. It endangers the lives of the law-abiding police officials and breaks the trust of the public in the SAPS, and through that undermines our fight against crime. The ANC will support every effort that is made to rid the SAPS of this small number of ill-disciplined and rogue officials and awaits the Minister's announcement in this regard in great anticipation.
For years we have been pleading for proper career planning in the SAPS. It is our firm belief that a process where a discussion with new recruits takes place and where their career is planned with them is what is required. We welcome the recruitment-to-retirement approach. This is a long overdue development if a professional police service is what is aspired to.
Professionalism is what drives excellence in service delivery. The SAPS has to inculcate in their daily practice that they have to respect the people they are policing. Professionalism means that they do not shout back, swear and utter profanities or assault members of the public. Professionalism means that they do the job with the dignity it deserves and with the minimum fuss. It is not to show the public that we are in control. Apartheid policing made that mistake. We dare not follow.
The wellness of our police officials remains a big concern. Minister, we welcome the announcement that you've made as well in this regard in your speech. We would like to urge much more focused attention on this issue. Wellness should be seen as an engaging process, not an event culminating in a celebration of a kind. Our crimes are violent. Our police officials must get the necessary psychological support to deal with this. We should do away with voluntary counselling and put in place compulsory counselling for officials who were exposed to violent scenes or involved in shootings. This is but one of the elements of the system that must be in place if we want to promote ethical and professional policing.
The other areas that need to be strengthened are training, promotions and enhancing accountability, such as the disciplinary system and performance management. These need to be transparent, accessible and known to all. The execution thereof needs to be equitable and fair. That will boost morale and enhance pride and promote professional conduct.
The information technology environment within the SAPS remains a serious concern. This environment must assist the SAPS to work smarter. It remains a challenge and seems to be open to manipulation. The projects that are of concern in terms of processes, deliverables and actual implementation are, amongst others, the e-docket system, the Central Firearms Registry's database, Terrestrial Trunked Radio, Tetra, and Property Control and Exhibit Management, PCEM.
We welcome the project's milestone targets for the Criminal Justice System and Integrated Justice System, IJS, but we would have liked to see measurable targets for the department's information and communication technology and information system plans. We believe that this environment deserves special attention and close scrutiny.
At this point, I would like to address private companies doing business in this field. It is unacceptable that they propose excessively expensive and sometimes outdated solutions to the SAPS in particular, and government in general. South Africa is not the dumping ground for obsolete solutions and equipment. The State Information Technology Agency, Sita, must be more vigilant in its engagement with big business. From the ANC we would like to welcome the Minister's announcement of a commission to investigate unscrupulous firearm dealers and whether any collusion between them and officials in the department took place. If it's true, they need to face the might of the law.
Visible policing is the biggest programme in the SAPS and accounts for 46% of the budget, which is R31,5 billion. This includes subprogrammes, crime prevention, border security and specialised interventions. This establishment has a funded establishment of 107 300 members. This programme and these members are at the coalface of crime-fighting. They represent the public, are the face of the SAPS and are often the first point of contact. This responsibility must be stressed to officials in this environment.
One of the issues of concern that remains in this environment is the number of station commanders still not fully trained. Command and control at station level impacts on the effective utilisation of human and capital resources and the perception of service delivery. The ANC would like to urge the Minister to ensure that a pool of trained station commander candidates is available. Appointments can then be made from such a pool of candidates as and when positions become vacant.
Sector policing remains the preferred policing policy for crime prevention. We know that where sector policing is properly implemented and managed, it bears results. We need to see a concerted effort and managed drive to fully implement sector policing.
A matter of concern is the fact that the Resource Allocation Guide is outdated and that it impacts extremely negatively on the ability to deliver services at a station level. The Resources Allocation Guide is based on outdated census data of two censuses back and thus resource allocations do not keep up with the growing communities. We welcome the move to upgrade it, but would plead that it be done on a more regular basis so as to prevent a gap that in the end will be insurmountable.
Building new police stations, and the location of those stations, remain a challenge. The ANC would like to urge the Minister of Police to reach an agreement with the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Minister of Human Settlements whereby, when new town developments are planned, they include planning for the police. Police stations and their location must form part of early planning and be integrated into new developments.
The Civilian Secretariat for Police is functioning under its own legislation. The secretariat Act allows the secretariat to play their role as a civilian oversight body, as envisaged in the Constitution. We can see the difference already, but we believe there is room for further improvement. They are all going to get calendars from me for Christmas.
The ANC would like to see the Civilian Secretariat for Police become a source of excellence and be a leading authority in the country, on the continent and in the world in developing forward-looking policy on policing. The ANC would like to commend the monitoring and evaluation unit in the secretariat for the work they do. We call on the SAPS to see the secretariat as an important partner in providing security to our country.
Fighting crime can never be the duty of the SAPS alone. We know that many of our crimes are committed while offenders are under the influence of narcotics. Society as a whole should actively become involved in the fight against crime. We need to address the root causes of crime - the social ills that contribute towards crime. We need to embrace the fight against crime. As we united around hosting a successful Soccer World Cup as a nation, we need to stand together again. Together, we can and we shall do more.
Allow me to thank all the members of the committee. Despite the showmanship that we will see here today, the majority of members work together with commitment to oversee the work of the department and to put forward the best possible legislation. To the support staff of the committee, my sincere appreciation for your hard work, more often than not after hours. Your commitment does not go unnoticed.
Minister, we also welcome your announcement around the review of the National Key Points Act. We need to address apartheid legislation. Consolidation of the national key points needs to take place so that a clear picture around this can emerge and so that we can take away this final tool that the opposition would try to use in playing politics.
I want to start with the issue that hon Kohler-Barnard raised. Hon Kohler- Barnard sounds like a stuck record; one stuck on the same issues all the time. When we had the study groups, we discussed who was going to say what, and it was predictable.
Since the media was not covering the Guptagate issue, let me cover it while we have the opportunity. The opposition was given the opportunity to debate the issue after the release of the report. That is a fact. They didn't want to do it. They jumped the gun. Now they are complaining that they didn't see the report before the debate. [Applause.] It is worrisome that when we stand at this podium, we deal with half- truths. The issue of adult basic education was explained to the committee. It was explained that the majority of those people were previously employed as private security officers that were guarding police stations and are now in the employment of the police, and they need to undergo Adult Basic Education and Training. They are not police officers, and the member knows that. [Interjections.] Did you hear any suggestion and any forward-looking proposal coming from the member on how to improve policing is South Africa? I did not.
At every station the crime statistics are available. We encourage the community to go there and talk to the station commanders. They are being put up on the walls of the station, the danger areas, statistics, etc. It is public knowledge. We are not going to allow the opposition to play politics with people's lives.
We can see that the elections are around the corner. I would like to urge the men and women in blue to go and read every last debate of this budget and see if the hon Kohler-Barnard ever had a good word to say about the police before this debate. It has never happened. Today was the first time that she saluted the police. It was for the first time, but nothing positive came out of it. [Applause.] [Interjections.]