Hon Chairperson, my speech is on the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, Ipid.
Ngaleziya zikhathi sasiyibiza nge-Independent Complaints Directorate; akusenjalo-ke, sekuyi-Ipid manje futhi iyaluma. [It was formerly known as the Independent Complaints Directorate but not any more, it is now known as the Ipid and it is doing a much better job than before.]
Hon Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister of Police, all the guests in the gallery, Members of Parliament, the mandate of the Ipid shifted significantly in the previous financial year as the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act enabled the directorate to shift away from being a complaints-driven organisation to prioritising the investigation of serious and priority crimes allegedly committed by members of the SA Police Service and the municipal police service.
In the past, the directorate focused its investigations largely on the SAPS, but is currently increasing its focus on investigating members of the municipal police service concerning alleged criminal offences.
Sihlalo omuhle nohloniphekile, uyayizwa ukuthi iphatha omasipala manje? Makungatholakali sekuthiwa isifikile i-Ipid izophenya bese kuzwakala abanye sebethi, kahle kahle ngiliLungu lePhalamende, ngimkhulu kabi noma mina ngiyimenenja yamasipala, noma imeya ngakho-ke ngicela ukuthi lingaphenywa ilungu elithile. Uma kuqhutshekwa nokumphenya kuzokonakala kungahle kuphele nesikhundla sakhe ePhalamende. Akusebenzi kanjalo! Ayiphenye i-Ipid ibabophe futhi! [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, do you now understand that it also applies to municipalities as well? We do not expect cases where the Ipid is supposed to investigate and then Members of Parliament and municipal managers refuse to be investigated, for fear of being removed from their seats. It does not work like that! The Ipid must investigate and make arrests when it is necessary! [Applause.]]
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act now places a strict responsibility on national and municipal police services to report matters that must be investigated to the directorate, and thereafter the implementation of disciplinary recommendations based on the investigations is monitored.
In the 2013-14 budget, the directorate was given R19,1 million extra, specifically to build capacity within the directorate. In this financial year, the directorate was allocated a total amount of R217 million. A key recommendation of the committee in the previous financial year was that the budget of the directorate needed to be rearranged in order to ensure that more funding is made available for the filling of vacant posts.
The directorate took this recommendation on board and reprioritised its budget to bring it in line with its core strategic priorities. The review of its organisational structure is now reflected as a key strategic objective and the alignment of the budget to the strategic priorities is clearly indicated through the increased percentage allocations for the compensation of employees, as well as an increased percentage share allocation of the total budget to investigations, which forms the core business of the directorate.
Siyazi-ke ukuthi lo hulumeni waKhongolose oholwa uBab' uNxamalala uyangena emadolobheni aze angene ngisho emakhaya. Sicela ukuthi-ke Ngqongqoshe kuphuthume ukuthi kube namahhovisi ezindaweni zasemakhaya ukuze phela i- Ipid isebenze kahle ingafiki nje isijuluke iconsa, kuthiwe phela ivela ePitoli kodwa kutholakale ukuthi isuka khona la eduze, ezindaweni zasemakhaya. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[We all know that the ANC government led by Mr Nxamalala [clan name] serves towns as well as rural areas. We therefore urge you, Minister, to fast- track the establishment of the Ipid satellite offices in rural communities to facilitate the carrying out of its mandate. We would not want them to pretend that they operate from Pretoria when, in fact, they do it from local offices. [Applause.]]
Although the directorate has made significant advances, it is still coming to grips with its expanded mandate and some key concerns remain. The key question regarding the directorate is whether the actions taken to realign its budget with its key priorities, especially in building its investigations capacity, are adequate to ensure that all vacant posts can be filled and additional staff hired.
The directorate currently faces a critical challenge to fill senior management positions in the organisation. These include the appointment of a permanent executive director of the directorate, and also the appointment of its nine provincial heads. We are aware that the Minister is in the final stage of the process of appointing the executive director. We are keenly looking forward to the announcement. It is not difficult to understand that the extended periods for which acting personnel are appointed in the directorate create instability within the directorate.
The upscaling of the skills of investigators is not yet adequate. The level of training of investigators to fulfil their new role is lacking. The lack of uniformity of investigative procedures is seen as a threat to the effective operation of the directorate and delivery on its mandate. In saying this, we welcome the development of a training manual for investigators to complement the existing standard operating procedures and investigation guidelines. We also look forward to seeing further progress in years to come. The expanded mandate of the directorate has been implemented and a number of high-profile cases have been successfully investigated by the directorate.
The lack of an infrastructure plan setting out the building needs of the directorate is a challenge to the effective operation of the directorate, especially the establishment of satellite offices. The directorate currently has an insufficient number of satellite offices. This is compounded by the fact that the ones that exist are located in large cities. The directorate has no satellite offices in rural areas, which makes the vital services offered by the directorate inaccessible to a large portion of our population. Currently, the directorate is finalising two satellite offices, one in the Western Cape and one in Mpumalanga. Two others are being prioritised.
The Department of Public Works must assist the directorate to locate appropriate locations for offices in rural areas in an effort to bring the services of the Ipid closer to our communities. This will also assist investigators in alleviating the burden of travelling vast distances to attend crime scenes. Travelling to rural sites is time-consuming and, more than that, the time lapse between reporting of a case and investigators arriving at the crime scene impacts negatively on investigations as the integrity of the crime scene can be compromised. The directorate needs to develop a clear strategy on the opening of satellite offices in rural areas, and in doing so the accessibility to rural as well as urban communities can be ensured.
The directorate should become more proactive in its investigations and rely less on alleged reports of offences by members of the national and municipal police services, members of the public or media.
Siyavuma Gatsheni, njengoba usho ukuthi ahlakaniphile amaphoyisa; ahlakaniphe ngempela. Noma ngabe uyisidlakela esingakanani, ayakubopha. Uma uthi awuyazi i-Ipid, hamba uye e-Cator Manor ufike ubuze khona ukuthi yini i-Ipid. Siyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[We agree with you, Gatsheni [clan name]; as you said, the police are highly skilled, they are indeed. They do not care how powerful one is and they do arrest all those that commit crime, regardless of who they are. If you do not know anything about the Ipid you should pay a visit to Cato Manor and ask them about it. Thank you. [Applause.]]
The directorate has made several significant advances since the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act came into operation last year, but it is still faced with some challenges, which are as follows: firstly, the directorate must build its capacity; secondly, the retention and capacitating of staff at all levels, especially at a management level, must be addressed; thirdly, concerns over upscaling of investigators must be addressed; fourthly, satellite stations must be prioritised in rural areas; and lastly, the directorate must become more proactive in its investigations.
Bese sishilo ukuthi mabangaphazanyiswa futhi masiyeke ukuthi kube yithi esima entabeni sithi, siyoke siwabone la maphoyisa noma sithi siyoke simbone lo hulumeni. Akukwazi ukuthi kube yithi esisho njalo. Amaphoyisa akakwazi ukusebenza uhulumeni engekho kanjalo nohulumeni ngeke asebenze engekho amaphoyisa. Kufanele sisebenze kanyekanye; yiphoyisa ngapha, yiPhalamende ngapha. NjengamaLungu ePhalamende kufanele sengamele ukusebenza kwamaphoyisa, ngeke siwengamele singekho eduze nawo. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[We have already emphasised that their investigations should never be disturbed or hampered. We should never sit back and observe from a distance if they or the government will be able to perform their duties in a proper and satisfactory manner. We cannot be the ones to do that. The police cannot perform their duties without any assistance from the government, and vice versa. We all have to work together; that is, the police and Parliament. As Members of Parliament, we have to monitor the work of the police and we cannot do that from a distance. [Applause.]]
We, as the ANC, urge all parliamentarians to work together with the Ipid, without any political interference and intimidation, but with respect. Let's make sure that we fight the demons of crime, corruption and fraud. Together, we can do more; together, we will support the Ipid; and together, we will make things happen. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]