MPs urge Saps to pay police more, outsource car maintenance services

Members of Parliament’s police portfolio committee urged police management to consider outsourcing its corruption-ridden state vehicle maintenance services, further seeking answers on how they plan to streamline services and tackle the worrying crime rate.

Police Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale and some of the South African Police Service’s (Saps) management appeared before Parliament on Wednesday to report back on the third-quarter performance ahead of the financial year-end.

Their appearance followed that of Police Minister Bheki Cele who presented the national crime statistics two weeks ago.

Cops’ wages and danger allowance too little

The DNA analysis backlog, firearm theft, unsafe police stations, rogue officers and corruption worried the MPs.

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They raised concerns about officers’ wages and danger pay, saying these drive police to accept bribes and take part in corrupt activities.

“Unless the Saps opens up and tells us exactly what the situation is on the ground and what needs to happen for them to combat crime, nothing much is going to be achieved.

“Tell us how – with the limited resources, economic downturn and poor infrastructure – you are going to reduce the high levels of crime?

“Is it possible for Saps to look into professionalising police, pay satisfactory salaries, and deal with danger allowance, which is just R13 a day?” asked MP Ahmed Shaik Emam of the National Freedom Party (NFP).

Shaik Emam said most officers live in townships and informal housing areas, which posed a safety risk for them.

“There used to be houses provided for police, mostly secure and nearby, which produced a conducive environment for them to do their work.

“Furthermore, how many police stations are able to provide services during load shedding? Is safety at the stations being attended to?”

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Hendrick Shembeni suggested that management find service providers to look after state vehicles, most of which he said broke down or are in poor condition.

“The state of the Saps is a letdown, there is too much corruption there. Outsourcing to commercial garages can help deal with this problem and ensure the timely availability of vehicles.

“Also, the quality of officers being recruited leaves much to be desired. It seems police work is no longer a calling but job creation in the face of unemployment, and therefore attracts criminals even. A professionalised and efficient Saps is desperately needed.”

Over 500 guns stolen

The burglaries at several police stations across the country continue unabated as brazen criminals attack police stations, catching officers off guard.

At least 543 firearms and ammunition were stolen in the past three months.

Some stations have stopped the 24-hour operation for fear of further attacks, opting to close shop by end of business every day.

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Management said additional safety measures such as the installation of CCTV cameras by the State Information Technology Agency (Sita) have already begun.

The agency’s slow procurement process saw only 12 of the 30 identified police stations completed so far.

“There has been dedicated funding for safety projects allocated to provinces. An additional R25 million has been added to attend to vulnerable police stations. We will sustain this allocation to the provinces to ensure safety.

“The funding covers CCTV cameras, fencing and other safety measures,” said Saps CFO, Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane.

‘Police recruits from matric pool’

According to Lieutenant-General Lineo Ntshiea, a divisional commissioner of human resource management, the police service liaises with the Department of Basic Education on matriculants whenever they needed new recruits.

“As Saps we admit that we do need to do more in terms of professionalising the police, but I must indicate that we subject our recruits to various selection processes, tests and training.

“They undergo physical, psychiatric and integrity tests. We recruit from the pool of matriculants coming out of the Department of Basic Education – these are candidates who want to join the Saps.

“Maybe we need to go deeper and check the quality of matriculants the department produces, as they affect the quality of new officers we bring in.”

She said once the recruits are successful, they are subjected to internal training and accredited courses.

Regarding officers’ housing and living conditions, Ntshiea said that the matter was being attended to by a panel consisting of management and labour unions.

The Saps has, as of the end of January this year, spent R83 billion of its more than R103 billion budget.

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