Irregularities lead to police forum elections postponement
ALEXANDRA - The Alexandra Community Police Forum’s elective conference held at the police station last weekend was postponed before any balloting after concerns of irregularities and mismanagement were raised.
The Alexandra Community Police Forum’s elective conference held at the Alex Police Station last weekend was postponed before any balloting could commence after concerns of irregularities and mismanagement were raised.
The conference will reconvene on 1 August after an interim committee chosen at the event presents a credible election programme to ensure respectable and representative elections of a new executive.
The forum which operates throughout four sectors is alleged to have committed various transgressions. They include poor preparations; failure to circulate essential documentation to voting members; exclusion of some stakeholders especially hostel dwellers in the sector committees; questionable nominations of some members said to have been chosen hastily after the nomination deadline; incumbent members not being elected by their communities and the forum constitution had not been made known to residents to inform them of the functions of the executive to enable them to hold them to account.
A conference facilitator from the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board, Thokozani Masilela, said the concerns warranted the postponement in order to bring respectability to the forum whose mandate lapsed in June after a five-year term. “The election should be conducted within 30 and 90 days and the new executive should be chosen from residents of impeccable standing with no criminal records especially of robbery, rape and murder which are a permanent negative record barring one from holding public office. Masilela said they would support the interim committee to ensure that the vetting and verification of nominated members is done properly, that the process is inclusive, fair and complied with the constitutional requirements of the forum. “We will expect the new executive to also work closely and under guidance of the station commander and to submit reports as required,”
Masilela also urged the residents to appraise the forum’s work by engaging at report back meetings.
Details: Gauteng Provincial Community Police Forum 011 689 3600.
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