Provincial communications head Brigadier Mashadi Selepe said provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Lesetja Mothiba had taken note of all the speculation relating to the memo about the community policing oversight role at police stations, as well as media reports stating that he had suspended the oversight functions of the CPF.
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Selepe said the provincial management, led by Mothiba and the Gauteng CPF board led by Andy Mashaile, met last night to clarify the memo issued by the commissioner. He said the memo was addressed to Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malebane, the Gauteng CPF board, all police clusters and station commanders.
Selepe said, “The police provincial management clarified the matter and both police and the provincial CPF board agreed that the letter was twisted and misinterpreted by those wanting to sow division between the police and the community in Gauteng.”
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He said that on 25 and 26 June, police management and the community safety department held the quarterly meeting as agreed between the two departments. The MEC then announced that she was going to implement a new oversight system which will be conducted by the CPF at all police stations in the province.
The provincial commissioner suggested that a consultation process with police management would be held, as police were not consulted and have not seen the document on the envisaged new oversight role of the CPFs and a proposed approach on consultation was agreed upon.
The commissioner wrote a memo to the MEC, CPF board and police management at all levels to emphasise the decision of the meeting with regard to the new role proposed by the MEC.
Selepe said the memo doesn’t make mention of the current roles and functions of the CPFs, which were not discussed at the meeting and remain intact. “The memo only refers to the proposed new oversight role mentioned by the MEC which police management have not seen to date,” he stated. Selepe said this communique must clarify the misconceptions that Mpthiba has suspended any function and role of the CPF. He said police have a responsibility of establishing and improving the relationship and partnership between police and the community through the forums. “Despite all the misinterpretations of the memo sent to the police stations, the commissioner still maintains his commitment to work with the CPFs and will respect their role and functions. It must be noted that despite all the misunderstandings, the CPF and police maintained their positive spirit of working together,” Selepe stated.
The envisaged additional oversight mandate of the CPFs is still to be discussed pending all stakeholder consultations.
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