Chairperson, I want to say to the hon Minister that what he is saying sounds good to the people of South Africa. That is what they would like to hear, but, hon Chairperson, I want to say to the hon Minister that the Police Service has been characterised by political failures in the past 15 years. A case in point is the appointment of Commissioner Jackie Selebi as the National Police Commissioner. How can you appoint a diplomat to fight criminals? You cannot fight a criminal with diplomacy.
I want to ask the hon Minister that, with the new appointment - I know the President appoints the person - he should please find an experienced, seasoned, man or woman within the ranks of the Police Service, who knows how things work in the police.
Furthermore, what has been another failure is the abolition of the commando system. The hon Minister admits here today that once criminals have committed crimes they escape to rural areas. It was then the commando system that would pick them up. Why must we first go via this curve, before you catch on?
The third aspect is the Firearms Control Act. Chairperson, how many times have I said that this is going to be a failure, because the police do not have the administrative capacity to administer the Firearms Control Act. Now there will first have to be a court case. Hon Minister, I would like to ask you to listen to the opposition parties. They want to give you good advice. [Interjections.]
But there is one last thing that I would like to say to you, you have a virus in the Police Service. You have rot that has set in, and that virus is a new type of racism; racism by black members of the police towards white members of the police. [Interjections.] Chairperson, how can you allow a policeman to refer to the public, a white person, as a "white dog"? [Interjections.]]