THE APPROPRIATION BILL
(Second
Reading Debate)
Vote
10 – Public Safety, Security and Liaison:
R83 232 000
The SPEAKER: We then proceed to Motions. Motion 1 reads as follows:
That the Second Reading Debate on the Appropriation Bill be continued.
The Vote before the House is that of
Public Safety, Security and Liaison.
The
hon MEC, Mr Kotsoane.
Mr I. W. KOTSOANE (MEC): Hon Speaker, thank you very much for this
opportunity. I did not want to get
involved in a debate or fight about a bulldog.
I am just glad to be able to address this House.
Hon Speaker,
hon Premier, hon Members of the Legislature, as I rise today to present the
2002/2003 Budget for the Department of Public Safety, Security and Liaison, I
want to take some time to reflect on how far we have come since the
establishment of the hard earned democracy that was ushered in after the 1994
general elections.
Let me hasten
to add that we can no longer accept the fact that some people are just sitting
back and relaxing. Now is the time to make
real the promises of democracy.
During the 90th
anniversary celebrations of the ANC, President Thabo Mbeki declared the year
2002 as “A Year For Volunteerism”. It is, therefore, a
challenge that says: Human progress is
neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a superficial look at history reveals
that social progress does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability. Every
step towards real democracy requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle. It
demands the tireless exertion and passionate concerns of dedicated individuals.
Without persistent efforts, time itself becomes an ally of the insurgent and
primitive forces of irrational emotionalism and social destruction. This is no
time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive actions.
Letsema (volunteerism) seeks to
unleash the human potential that exists within our communities. It is a
programme that calls upon all South Africans to fully participate in all areas
of public service, be it education, public safety, social development, arts and
culture and all other services that work towards nation building. It is a
programme that calls upon South Africans to volunteer their time by positively
contributing to making a difference wherever they live.
Free Staters
should demonstrate patriotism towards the Province through deepening this
culture of volunteerism and tolerance.
We should promote a culture of caring for each other and break down all
barriers enforced by apartheid.
We are,
therefore, expected to mobilise and be involved en masse in campaigns that say:
·
Say no to woman and child abuse;
·
Do not buy stolen goods;
·
Say no to crime; and
·
Say no to drugs, or, pushing drugs is
not cool.
As we
approach the twilight hours of Human Rights Month, we know that the road ahead
is still long. The coming months demand of us to
continue mobilising our communities to be active in the Letsema programme. This is by all means a workable and realistic
approach towards deepening our patriotism, nationhood and building a nation at
work.
At the end of
apartheid,
As we
progress through the years, we shall from time to time continue to refer to the Freedom Charter as adopted by the
Congress of the People in Kliptown. This
is an occasion that marked a turning point in the history of this country. The
Freedom Charter laid down fundamental principles upon which our present
Constitution is based. These principles
make us a free nation, a nation that strives for equality, human dignity,
security, and especially the protection of those that are vulnerable in
whatever way. We are, therefore,
enjoined as a nation to jealously defend these cherished rights.
President Mbeki reminds us of the hard
earned democracy in Mahube. He points
to the brave character of those who voluntarily sacrificed their time and lives
for the sake of a better life for their people.
He says:
But
this I can say: That we who are their
offspring know that we owe to them much of what is humane, noble and beautiful
in the thoughts and actions of our people, as they strive to build a better
world for themselves.
For
throughout their lives they struggled against everything that was ugly, mean,
brutish and degrading to the dignity of all human beings.
And
because they were prepared to pay the supreme price to uphold good over evil,
they planted a legacy among our people which drives all of us constantly to
return to the starting point: I am my
brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, and because we are one another’s
keeper, we surely must be haunted by humiliating suffering which continue to
afflict millions of our people.
Our
days will remain forever haunted when frightening numbers of women and children
of our country fall victim to rape and other crimes of
violence, nor can there be peace of mind when the citizens of our country feel
they have neither safety nor security, because of the terrible deeds of
criminals and their gangs.
As
the sun continues to rise to banish the darkness of the long years of
colonialism and apartheid, what the new light over our land must show is a
nation delightful at work to create a better life for itself.
During his
Budget Vote in the National Assembly, the Minister of Safety and Security, Mr
Steve Tshwete, then called on all of us to:
...turn
the tide against crime.
This leads us
to understand why Letsema is a
yearlong programme that heralds the beginning of mass mobilisation for all Free
Staters. They must take up the duty to
roll back the frontiers of crime and claim back our streets, our residential
areas and our right to safety and security.
In our
efforts to bring democracy to the people on the ground, we call upon our local
municipalities to do the following to simplify the work of the police:
1.
Ensure that all residential areas
within their jurisdiction are properly numbered and owners are properly
registered;
2.
That streets, particularly in informal
settlements, are maintained in order to allow police officers to access
residential areas; and
3.
Provide proper lighting that will help
to deter criminals and to enable police officers to execute their duties,
namely combating and preventing crime.
In the next
financial year, we will host meetings with shebeen and tavern owners in order
to secure their co-operation with regard to the following:
·
No sale of liquor to under-aged
children;
·
Eradicate the abuse and exploitation of
women in shebeens;
·
Declare gun-free zones in and around
places of entertainment; and
·
Adhere to conditions of liquor
licensing.
The mandate
of this Government is obviously to ensure that every citizen complies with all
laws. Therefore, we are unapologetic about our stance of intolerance towards
all acts of criminality. We have reason to celebrate our nationhood, and we
should indeed be proud of being South Africans.
The
Government’s determination and commitment to create a crime-free environment is
beyond reproach. This view is attested
by Government’s resolve to fight crime by increasing the national Safety and
Security Budget, enabling the recruitment of 16 000 police officers over a
three year period.
The range of
activities that are underpinned by strategic interventions will largely
facilitate the establishment of CPF’s (community policing forums) in areas
where these structures do not exist, or where they are defunct due to various
reasons. The Department will ensure that
this is done with great urgency and that rural areas in our Province receive
special attention.
Over the next
three years, the Department will continuously make an assessment of the work in
progress by the criminal justice cluster, as well as all other sectors involved
in safety and security. This will be done against the strategic goals of the
Free State Development Plan.
The apartheid
government’s skewed distribution of resources deliberately neglected effective
policing and the safety of the majority of citizens, especially in the rural
communities.
It is against
this backdrop that it becomes imperative for police management to embark on
deliberate strategies to distribute resources, both human and material, to make
policing in remote rural and historically disadvantaged areas a practical
reality.
Through the
Rural Safety Strategy, concerted efforts will be made to ensure the effective
participation of rural people in community policing forums in order to
strengthen rural safety.
During his
Budget Vote of 2001/2002, Minister Tshwete said:
The
question of harmonious relationships between farmers and farm workers cannot be
pushed to the periphery when it comes to security on farms. This must also be extended to the broader
neighbouring villagers, because if these people are hostile to the farmer for
whatever reason, then the farm’s security is immediately compromised. The farmers must take the lead in both cases.
The Rural Protection Plan, through
sector policing and its application in rural areas, is critical in this
context. Furthermore, policing units,
such as reservists within the police structures, will be expected to play a
much bigger role.
Any
successful decrease in stock theft, abuse and killings on farms depend entirely
on the extent to which co-operation and collaboration is achieved amongst
farmers and farm workers. However, we
are continuously perturbed by allegations of violence and the gross abuse of
farm workers by farm owners.
A recent
incident at Tweespruit outside Parys, where twice a white farmer allegedly
assaulted an elderly couple, is cause for concern. Also, the latest reports from Ladybrand are
also unacceptable. There, dogs are allegedly
trained to attack blacks. Thereafter,
the victim’s wounds are treated with something that is used to treat
cattle. This is something that we as the
Department cannot ignore.
Therefore, we
call on our farmers to see their farm workers as partners in the production of
food. Moreover, farmers must also
publicly denounce all abhorrent deeds that militate against nation building and
reconciliation.
We must
further be guided by what the President has said:
I
am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper, and because we are one
another’s keeper, we surely must be haunted by the humiliating suffering which
continues to affect millions of our people.
We will
continue to reaffirm the call made by our hon Premier, namely to be new Free
Staters; Free Staters that stand up against any form of abuse, racism, sexism
and all other stereotypes that give rise to injustices, oppression and
discrimination.
LETSEMA SAFETY AND SECURITY FOCUS MONTH
The
provincial launch of Letsema on
During
February, the thrust of the Letsema campaign
was, and will remain, concentrated on the mobilisation of our communities to work
for peace and stability across the Province.
To reclaim
our streets from criminals, to ensure that our women and children can walk
freely and peacefully at the crack of dawn and fearlessly in the still of the
night wherever they are, and to rid our neighbourhood schools of criminals and
gangs, we intend to achieve the following:
·
To continue with initiatives against
crime and corruption;
·
To strengthen CPF’s;
·
To cultivate a culture of personal
responsibility;
·
To encourage members of our communities
to enlist as reservists;
·
To highlight and support efforts made
to ensure a climate of safety and security;
·
To promote respect for the rule of
law; and, more importantly
·
To mobilise our communities against
police killings in our areas.
To ensure
that the momentum continues, the Department has set aside an amount of R1.3
million for social crime prevention and Letsema-orientated
projects at CPF level.
We recently
held successful provincial seminars on domestic violence and child abuse at
Phuthaditjhaba and other towns in the Province.
During these seminars, we highlighted the plight of victims of domestic
violence, rape and child abuse. Men, in
particular, were encouraged to seize the moment by being vocal and prominent in
condemning violence against women and children, especially the girl-child. They publicly spoke out against this evil.
As a result,
a bold step was taken by a group of caring and modest men who, out of concern,
established an organisation called ‘Men
for Change Forum’. We are truly
inspired by the activities of these men and the recent march by the taxi
industry. We call on others to do the
same. It is never too late!
Similar
gatherings were held at Ladybrand, Philippolis and Batho. All of these had the theme, ‘Zero Tolerance to Domestic Violence
and Child Abuse’. The overwhelming
attendance of these events by communities shows the enormous concern in our
communities about this issue.
The public’s sharp reaction to the
reported incidents of child rape was indeed a sign of disapproval and
condemnation. However, that was and
still is, not enough. As long as we do
not act against, or brace ourselves for this struggle, this problem will
persist.
In our endeavour to ensure co-operation
with other government departments, Public Safety, Security and Liaison is
committed to supporting the Adopt-A-Cop Programme that was implemented by the
SAPS and the Department of Education.
This
programme has been running at 636 out of 1 271 schools in the Province. Police officials at station level are identified
and can be adopted. The objective of
this campaign is to improve the relations between police officials and
scholars. It will also restore the image
of and build children’s trust in the members of the SAPS. Due to the prevalence of criminal activities
in centres of higher learning, we will continue to maintain this programme at
our tertiary institutions.
One of the
thorny issues we need to tackle is the market that we as communities provide
for stolen goods. This contributes to
the crime in our communities. We are
truly delighted with the support shown by our people by coming forward to
report activities and expose those who sell stolen goods.
During the
provincial launch at the Zuka Baloi Stadium, Thabong, we sent a crystal clear
message to those who buy stolen goods:
he/she is equally liable for prosecution. This campaign will continue in the next
financial year.
Let us now
reflect on some of the pro-active crime preventative measures and operations
undertaken by the SAPS.
Copper theft
is a big concern in the
The misuse of
liquor plays a major role in violent crimes and crimes against women and
children. In an attempt to address this
problem, a Provincial Instruction was issued through the area commissioners to
station commissioners to compile a tavern profile on problem taverns in our
Province. When enough evidence is
collected against a tavern, the Liquor Board is approached to close the tavern.
Let me take
this opportunity to thank our men and women in blue for the following
operations that are currently being implemented towards fighting crime.
Operation Crackdown
This
operation is currently being conducted at 107 police stations in the
Operation High Octane
This
operation was conducted between
Operation Tsipa
The operation
was launched in February, but has ceased to run. Its successes will be evident in due course.
Operation Thiba
This
operation was launched on
·
The smuggling
of fire-arms and drugs;
·
The
transporting of stolen vehicles;
·
The entry into
the country by illegal immigrants;
·
Stock-theft on
farms alongside our borders; and
·
The
transporting of stolen goods across the border into and out of
Hon Speaker, please allow me to present
my Budget:
To
ensure that we meet our constitutional obligation of oversight, monitoring,
crime prevention and community liaison, our total budget is R83 232 000. This includes the Provincial Government’s
security personnel.
MONITORING OF THE FUNCTIONING AND
SERVICE DELIVERY OF UNITS IN SAPS DEALING WITH CASES INVOLVING WOMEN AND
CHILDREN
These units
will be assessed on a quarterly basis with a specific focus on human resources,
vehicle allocation, equipment, specialised training and the quality of
investigations undertaken.
Inspections in loco will be undertaken in each unit
to make objective observations and evaluations.
During the
2001/2002 financial year, a total of 3 232 rape cases against women and
children were reported. Out of these, 1
592 offenders were arrested and 216 convicted on these charges. A total of 407 rapes were committed against
children between 0 and 12 years. From
this category, 201 cases were taken to court and 58 persons were
convicted. A total of 236 cases of child
abuse were reported during the period under review. During this period, a total of eleven life
sentences were meted out against perpetrators for crimes committed against
women and children.
Therefore,
the campaign against woman and child abuse will continue. During this financial year, we will target
all the stations with a high reporting incidence of these crimes.
The
Secretariat will give effect to strategies in the Free State Development Plan
that is aimed at reducing the rate of crime against women and children by 12%
over next three years.
MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
GENDER PROGRAMS IN THE SAPS
We will continue to take part in the
SAPS Provincial Transformation Forum.
Efforts will be made to ensure that female members are empowered and
appointed to managerial positions within the service. Female station commissioners
currently manage only three stations in the Province and this represents less
than 5% of the total stations in the Province.
The same situation is experienced among unit commanders.
OVERSIGHT OVER THE EFFECTIVENESS AND
EFFICIENCY OF THE SAPS IN ITS SERVICE DELIVERY
We will
continue with review visits to and inspections of police stations to ensure
that the police render an effective service to local communities. In the next financial year, more staff
members will be appointed to speed-up visits to police stations. In this way, the Department’s objective will
be met.
The focus
areas during these visits will continue to be:
·
Human resource allocation, utilisation
and training;
·
The distribution and re-distribution of
resources;
·
The supervision and managerial
capacity;
·
The condition of station premises;
·
The condition of holding cells for
detainees and adherence to human rights standards;
·
The station’s involvement in the
community policing forum and initiatives on social crime prevention; and
·
The implementation of sector policing
and its impact on crime in specific areas.
THE ESTABLISHMENT, ADMINISTERING AND
MAINTENANCE OF A PROVINCIAL CALL CENTRE TO SPECIFICALLY DEAL AND HANDLE
COMPLAINTS AGAINST AND WITHIN THE SAPS
In our
previous Budget Vote, reference was made to the proposed establishment of a
call centre to register all complaints and comments from community members
relating to service delivery by the SAPS.
Due to
budgetary constraints, this did not materialise. However, we budgeted for this function in the
next financial year.
As part of
our efforts to sustain the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS), an amount
of R200 000 has been set aside towards the co-ordination of all departments
that have a bearing on the implementation of the NCPS.
THE
FACILITATION AND SUSTAINMENT OF THE INTEGRATED CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
An amount of
R470 000 will be set aside towards auditing, supporting and sustaining projects
within the Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS). This audit and continuous support will target
crosscutting social crime prevention projects that are based on the outcome of
research that is to be conducted.
By the end of
August 2002, a needs analysis for the establishment of a victim support centre
in one of the rural towns will be completed.
This will be processed and finalised after an assessment of all existing
centres. The total project value is
estimated at R60 000.
An amount of
R4 050 000 has been set aside for youth development in the Province. One hundred and fifty thousand rand will be
used towards supporting intervention aimed at reducing youth violence and
substance abuse.
This will be
done in collaboration with the Youth Commission and the Departments of Social
Development and Education.
An amount of
R200 000 is budgeted for the implementation of diversion programmes for youth
in conflict with the law. This will be
used in the launch of alternative sentencing programmes and will be done in
collaboration with agencies such as NICRO (National Institute for Crime Prevention
and Rehabilitation of Offenders) and other government departments.
An amount of
R100 000 has been set aside for the implementation of the Adopt-a-Cop
Project. The SAPS and the Department of
Education launched this project.
Together with
the Departments of Social Development, Education and other relevant
stakeholders, R3.7 million has been set aside for the establishment of a
The
Department, in partnership with the Departments of Social Development and
Education, has sponsored a rehabilitation program for 15 gang members in the
Bohlokong area. This was made possible
by the involvement of the Area Commissioner, the Office of the Local
Magistrate, the Prosecution Office and the Health Department. We will soon submit a concept proposal for
the establishment of such a centre before the Executive Committee.
In
anticipation of new regulations to be promulgated by the National Minister, an
amount of R430 000 has been set aside for the revival, sustenance and
facilitation of community policing forums in the Province. An amount of R1 million will be used to
finance social crime prevention projects in the Province.
PERSONNEL EXPENDITURE
From
This implies
that the Department will only be responsible for the implementation of its
constitutional imperatives as spelled out within the Strategic Plan.
I want to
submit the Annual Report of the South African Police Service in the
We will
further table the Provincial Policing Priorities and Objectives for the
2002/2003 financial year, as prescribed by Section 206 of the Constitution (Act
108/1996).
In
conclusion, allow me to express my sincere and heartfelt appreciation to the
members of the Free State community, the hon Premier and hon Members of the
Executive Council for their support, the hon Members of the Portfolio Committee
on Public Safety, Security and Liaison, the Head of my Department, and the
Provincial Commissioner and his management and staff.
Finally, I
want to thank my family for their unwavering support, love and devotion. [Applause]
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