Agb Voorsitter, ek wil begin om te s ons salueer daardie lede van die Polisie, manne en vroue wat bereid is om selfs hulle lewens op te offer vir die beskerming van die mense van Suid-Afrika.
Maar, agb Minister, as ek dit s, dan sluit ek aan by wat u ges het, dat korrupsie aangespreek moet word, want daar is 'n aantal vrot appels in die kis. Ons moet daardie appels uithaal.
Maar ek wil dan ook vandag vir u s, agb Minister, dat u Nasionale Kommissaris van Polisie 'n verleentheid vir die Polisie is. Ek weet u stel nie die Kommissaris aan nie; die President stel hom aan. Maar ek wil vandag ook 'n boodskap in hierdie debat aan die President gee om aan hom te s, hou op om 'n politikus in 'n uniform te sit om die Polisiediens te lei. Dit het tyd geword dat ons die les geleer het om te weet dat, as jy iemand in 'n uniform sit, die persoon die behoorlike opleiding ondergaan het om daardie uniform waardig te wees.
Die R500 miljoen-skandaal moenie ligtelik opgeneem word nie. Dis 'n verleentheid en dit tas die moraal van ons lede in die Polisie aan.
Daarby aangesluit, agb Minister, die rooi ligte gaan aan en dit is uiters kommerwekkend as 'n vakbond na die Portefeuljekomitee van Polisie kom en s, maar daar is een beleid vir bevordering van vriende en familie in die Polisie, en 'n ander beleid vir die hardwerkende, opofferende lede van die Polisiediens. Hulle noem dit nepotisme. As ons dit nie aanspreek, en duidelik en vinnig aanspreek nie, agb Minister, dan laat ons daardie ander hardwerkende lede van die Polisie in die steek. Dan tas ons hulle moraal aan.
Die volgende aspek wat ek wil aanraak, is die dissipline. Daar is hopeloos te veel siviele eise teen die Polisie ingestel as gevolg van onregmatige optrede deur lede van die Polisie. Ek weet die Nasionale Kommissaris het vir 'n portefeuljekomitee ges dat die reaksiemag op die taakspan hoogs opgeleide mense is en dat hulle partymaal oorreageer. Agb Minister, as jy 'n hoogs opgeleide persoon is, dan is jy hoogs gedissiplineerd, want jy is nie hoogs opgelei as jy nie gedissiplineerd optree nie. As ons dan so hoogs gedissiplineerd moet wees, dan moet ons verder kyk na die opleiding sodat hierdie eise nie ingestel word teen die Polisie, en aan die einde van die dag, teen die belastingbetaler nie. Ek kom ook na die vuurwapens toe, agb Minister. U het 'n taakspan aangestel om die agterstalligheid van aansoeke vir vuurwapenlisensies weg te werk, maar ek word oorval deur klagtes deur aansoekers wat s die dokumente is nou skielik weg. Dit is net nie meer verkrygbaar nie. Ek wil vandag die stelling maak dit wil voorkom asof aansoeke maar net voor die voet afgekeur word, dat die wapeneienaar se aansoek frustreer word sodat hy maar van vooraf moet aansoek doen of dat hy appl moet aanteken. Dis 'n oortreding van die administratiewe wet, van billikheid en regverdigheid.
Ek het 'n vraag aan u gevra: Is hierdie taakspanne, die lede waarvan nou moet besluit of jy 'n vuurwapenlisensie kan kry, opgelei en bevoeg om te kan bepaal of iemand dit kan kry al dan nie? As ons nie aandag daaraan gee nie, agb Minister, dan stel ons 'n swak voorbeeld en lewer ons nie 'n diens aan die mense van Suid-Afrika nie. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, I want to start by saying that we salute the members of the police force, men and women who are prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect the people of South Africa.
But, hon Minister, when I say this, I agree with your statement that corruption needs to be addressed as there are a number of rotten apples in the basket. We need to remove those apples.
But then, hon Minister, I also want to say to you today that your National Police Commissioner is an embarrassment to the police. I know you don't appoint the Commissioner; the President makes that appointment. But today I also want to send a message to the President in this debate to tell him that he should stop appointing a politician in uniform to lead the police service. By this time, we should have learned that when you put someone in a uniform, that person should have undergone the proper training to be worthy of that uniform.
The R500 million scandal should not be taken lightly. It's an embarrassment and it affects the morale of our police members.
In addition to this, hon Minister, the red lights are flashing and it is extremely worrying when a trade union approaches the Portfolio Committee on Police and states that there is one policy with regard to the promotion of friends and family in the police and another policy when it comes to the hard-working members of the police service who make sacrifices. It's called nepotism. If we don't address this clearly and quickly, hon Minister, then we fail those hard-working members of the police. Then we affect their morale.
The next aspect I would like to address is discipline. There are far too many civil cases against the police because of wrongful acts by members of the police. I know the National Commissioner told a portfolio committee that the reaction force on the task team consists of highly trained people and that they sometimes overreact. Hon Minister, when you are a highly trained person, you are highly disciplined, as you cannot be highly trained when you don't act in a disciplined manner. If we are supposed to be this highly disciplined, then we need to further examine this training so that these claims are not brought against the police, and, at the end of the day, against the taxpayer.
I'll address firearms next, hon Minister. You appointed a task team to reduce the backlog with regard to applications for firearm licences, but I'm inundated with complaints by applicants who claim the documents are missing all of a sudden. They simply cannot be found. I want to make the statement today that it seems as if applications are simply rejected out of hand, and that the owner of the firearm is frustrated by having to reapply from scratch or lodge an appeal. This is a transgression of the administrative law, of fairness and justness.
I asked you a question: Are these task teams, the members who need to decide whether you are allowed to be granted a firearm licence, trained and equipped to determine whether a person is eligible or not? If we don't address this, hon Minister, we are setting a poor example and not delivering a service to the people of South Africa. I thank you.]