Deputy Speaker, I always wanted to ask the Minister what he said to the AWB leaders. I know some of those people and they are not easy to handle. When I saw them on television they were so mesmerised. So, I don't know what the hon Minister told them. I don't know whether it was Mthethwa magic or something like that. [Laughter.]
Hon Minister, unfortunately I want to tell you that the FF Plus is not mesmerised. The public of South Africa should have trust in the police.
Ek is jammer om vir die agb Minister te s dat ek steeds gereeld oorval word deur mense wat klagtes het waar hulle net eenvoudig deur polisiebeamptes, kan ek amper s, op 'n rassistiese wyse hanteer word. Hierdie is mense wie klagtes wil gaan l en vir wie die polisie nie bereid is om 'n klagstaat te open nie. Die polisie is nie bereid om hul verklarings te neem nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Ja, dis 'n goeie vraag. Hoekom nie? Enige burger van Suid-Afrika het die reg om na 'n polisiekantoor te gaan en 'n klag te gaan l wat die polisie moet ondersoek.
Agb Minister, dit is vir my onaanvaarbaar dat 'n lid van die publiek by 'n polisiekantoor opdaag en sien dat die polisieman agter die toonbank 'n man is wie hom 'n paar weke tevore wou beroof. Ek moes eers 'n vraag aan u in die Parlement vra: hoekom is daardie man nog aan diens? Ek praat spesifiek van die geval by die Boskop-polisiekantoor.
Hy is nou verwyder nadat ek die vraag gevra het, maar dit mag nie gebeur nie. U is op rekord waar u s dat u die polisie wil reinig van korrupsie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[I am sorry to have to tell the hon Minister that I am still regularly being swamped by people who have complaints where, I can almost say, police officers simply treat them in a racist manner. These are people who want to lay a charge, but for whom the police are not prepared to open a charge sheet. The police are not prepared to take their statements. [Interjections.]
Yes, that is a good question. Why not? Any citizen of South Africa has the right to go to a police station to lay a charge that the police must investigate.
Hon Minister, I find it unacceptable that a member of the public should arrive at a police station to find that the police officer behind the counter is a man who had wanted to rob him a few weeks earlier. I had to ask you a question in Parliament first: why is that man still on duty?
I am talking specifically about the case of the Boskop Police Station.
He has now been removed after I had asked the question, but it must not be allowed to happen. You are on record as saying that you want to rid the police of corruption.]
Hon Minister, we support you in that. We can see that you are trying to put an effort to rid the police of corruption, but we need more. The public still does not trust the police; neither does the FF Plus and we will, therefore, not support the Vote.