Chairperson; Deputy Minister of Police, Ms M M Sotyu; Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr L S Chikunga; Acting National Commissioner of Police, Lt-Gen N Mkhwanazi; SAPS senior management present; hon Members of Parliament; strategic partners of the SAPS in the fight against crime; distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, the most defining feature of the South African democratic state is that it champions the aspirations of law-abiding citizens. Its primary task is to work for the realisation of a safe and secure environment for all, particularly women, children, the disabled and the elderly.
Policing is a heavy responsibility. Many a time the police are expected to carry the "sins of the world". Let me illustrate what I mean by this observation. When citizens and their public representatives disagree on matters pertaining to service delivery, for instance, in most cases one or both parties call on the police to intervene. Police servants end up at the centre of the dispute, engaged in running battles with communities and taking the blame for sins they did not commit.
Regardless of such challenges, the SAPS continues to score positively in the fight against crime, as reflected in the crime statistics of 2011-12 and supported by certain independent role-players. Key in all of this have been the strategic partnerships we have cemented with different institutions, civic organisations and the broader public. We would further like to thank those who participated in, and continue to support, our efforts in highlighting the plight of police members who are injured, attacked or die while performing their duty.
We have dubbed this year the Year of the Detective, with a focus on a 10- point plan of priority deliverables. We will deliberate comprehensively on this theme later on. I would first like to address some of the recent issues that have been topical in the public domain.
Firstly, I want to deal with allegations against the senior management of the SAPS. We have observed and been disturbed by the events over the past few months which have been attributed to the senior management of the SAPS. In the first place, there have been allegations of rendition against the Hawks in Gauteng - the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation - in relation to Zimbabwean nationals. The matter was brought to my attention and I immediately sought clarity from the head of the Hawks, who responded. The Civilian Secretariat for Police is almost done with a preliminary report on this matter. Secondly, I want to use this occasion to refer to another matter that has been in the public domain and involves allegations of murder and torture against members of the DPCI team - the Hawks - in Cato Manor, KwaZulu-Natal. Any allegation, on any day, involving murder and torture by police officers is a matter that cannot be ignored. That is why we have tasked those who police the police, namely the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, IPID, together with the team from DPCI National Office, to investigate these allegations.
Further, I call on certain political commentators, including political parties and the media, to be objective as they exercise their oversight function of the SAPS. You cannot raise issues to do with certain SAPS members, and then try to excuse others when it suits you. We regard this matter and these allegations as extremely serious and are treating them as such.
Thirdly, allegations have been levelled at crime intelligence, in particular at Lt-Gen Richard Mdluli. Regarding the allegations against Lt- Gen Mdluli, I want to say that we will all have to observe the process, which is currently in our criminal justice system, being taken to its logical conclusion. Regarding the current investigations into the Crime Intelligence Division, I have noted the recent utterances, public discussions and, at times, misrepresentation and misunderstanding of SAPS processes by certain members of society, particularly in relation to one of the crucial divisions in our fight against crime, namely crime intelligence. Allegations were levelled against the division's head, Lt-Gen Mdluli. These relate to the mismanagement of a secret fund, nepotism and other matters. The Inspector-General of Intelligence has the legal mandate for oversight of the financial management of crime intelligence. As part of her mandate, she is able to look into any other issue that may arise in the course of such investigation. Contrary to what the media are saying, this investigation is still in progress. We won't be subjected to any "paralegal" process, be it in the media or elsewhere.
There have been public spats between people in SAPS senior management, involving unfortunate public accusations and counteraccusations. What seems to have sparked this is a letter that has been widely reported on, which Lt- Gen Mdluli is said to have written to, among others, the Minister of Police. This letter seems to have political connotations and has caused tension within the SAPS management. It alludes to a conspiracy and some people in management ganging up against him. I have set up a team, led by the State Law Adviser, to investigate such allegations because they are very serious, given that they suggest police functionaries' meddling in politics. While this probe is under way, and in consultation with the Acting National Police Commissioner, we have decided that, effective today, Lt-Gen Mdluli should be moved from his current position as Head of Crime Intelligence to another division, as determined by the Acting National Police Commissioner. [Applause.] To this end, Lt-Gen Mdluli has been informed of the decision and has pledged his support for the process. We shall therefore observe this process and allow it to be carried through without any undue interference.
I am deliberately and purposely clarifying the processes of these current cases and investigations, because for some time there has been a degree of misrepresentation, some false allegations and, to a certain extent, genuine concern about the "goings-on" within the SAPS. We have resisted temptation and will stick to our principle of respecting all the legal processes of our land.
I will now get back to what I said we would deal with in 2012, which we have declared the Year of the Detective with a focus on the 10-point plan of priority deliverables. On the occasion of this Budget Vote in this august House last year we highlighted the fact that we should strengthen the institutions and practices of popular participation. We said:
Our approach must in practice, be premised on the people-centred and people-driven process of transformation. All of society must take part in this national effort, and effective systems of interaction with all social partners must be established.
For this financial year we purposely narrowed our focus to 10 points because we believe not only that they are achievable, but that they must be achieved. We need to place significant focus on government's five key priorities and direct our energies to be in line with them. We must build on the progress we have made, while we consolidate the lessons learnt for the safety of our citizens.
The first of those 10 points is the transformation of the SAPS. In this regard we have noticed some progress in certain areas that were untransformed but are now transformed. An example is the Forensic Science Laboratory. With regard to race and gender, we will continue to ensure that we transform all other aspects of the SAPS.
Enhancing the criminal justice system is another issue. Here we are referring mostly to ICT. We have come up with a two-pronged approach in this regard. First, we sought to address challenges relating to what has been widely reported as corruption and mismanagement in this area. We are emphasising this because, by and large, the biggest chunk of the SAPS budget goes into this area. We have noted that we have not necessarily arrived at the point where we can say that we are getting value for money out of this. Therefore I have instructed the Hawks to delve deep into this area to ensure that what we get from Parliament is utilised wisely. [Applause.]
We have also appointed a new divisional head in this area which has always been a challenge. We have said they have to come up with a strategy within a month that will turn things around, so that we are able to move on from this point.
The next priority is the building of new police stations. With the leases and what has been happening in the police around these matters, we and the Minister of Public Works have come together. We got both our managements working collectively to ensure that at the end of the day the demand out there - which is the need for people to access service in their backyards, where they live - is actually met. That is why we have emphasised that the building of police stations is a priority that needs to be achieved, so that those who have not benefited from such service do in fact benefit.
The next area that we have been confronted with, and which we started to address some time last year, is the manner in which we police public protests. We have secured new equipment that deals with just that issue, to ensure that accusations about police brutality are addressed. I urgently want to say to the public that while the police continue to approach public protests and public functions in a humane manner, we expect the same from the public. [Applause.] We have a situation in Heidelberg in Gauteng, for instance, which police have been policing in a manner that we have said is correct. They are doing so with difficulty because some of the people in the community have been very violent. We want people to bear with the police, and when we say that they must approach people humanely, we are in fact speaking to everyone. Nobody has a licence to destroy another person's property.
HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!