Policy and Budget Vote Speech of the Mpumalanga Department of Safety, Security and Liaison presented by MEC Vusi Shongwe
02 June 2011
Honourable Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Honourable Premier of the Province, Mr DD Mabuza
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature
Honourable Members of the Executive Council
House of Traditional Leaders
Head of Department, Mr Thulani Sibuyi and fellow HODs from
other departments
SAPS Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thulani
Ntobela
Public Safety councillors from different municipalities
Representatives from the JCPS cluster
Chairperson of the Provincial Community Police Forum Board
Mr Mandla Mphuthi
Distinguished Guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me begin my Policy and Budget Speech by acknowledging
the peaceful, free and fair local government elections held two weeks ago, when
the citizens of our country and our province went out to cast their votes.
The elections were without problems in terms of safety and
security for our people due to proper planning and the sterling work done by our
law enforcement agencies, which ensured that people exercise their democratic
right spurred on the desire to change their lives for the better, without fear.
The people went out in numbers to cast their votes
especially in the areas where there were threats of violence to disrupt the
elections; however our law enforcement agencies managed to contain the
situation. I want to publicly commend them for the job well-done.
Mr Speaker, fighting crime and corruption is one of the
five government’s priorities. As a provincial government, we are moving with
speed to ensure that this aim is quickly achieved in order for the communities
to have trust on our law enforcement agencies as well as this government.
Our provincial government adopted 12 outcomes from the
five key priorities. Our department is mandated to achieve on the third outcome
where we are to ensure that “All People in South Africa ARE and FEEL safe”. My
department developed and signed the delivery agreements with the Premier of the
Province Mr David Mabuza and other Members of the Executive Council from sister
departments.
Honourable members, during the last financial year, the
department adopted a Seven Point Plan for the 2010/13 Medium Term Expenditure
Framework period.
The plan, among others comprised of the improvement of
human and finance resource capacity, reduction of contact crime by between 7 to
10 percent per annum, implementation of the 2010 integrated safety and security
plan, development of community and institutional structures and mobilisation as
well as the development and management of departmental systems and structures.
I want to put it on record that we are on course with our
adopted plan and will continue to implement it as adopted, with the exception of
the implementation of the 2010 plan which has been since dropped after a its
successful implementation last year. The plan will be now called a Six Point
Plan and will be key towards the achievement of the 2011/2012 financial year
priorities.
Achievements
Although there may be numerous challenges facing SAPS and
the department in dealing with crime prevention and combating, let me stress
that as a province, we are moving in the right direction. Our province, under
the leadership of Lieutenant General Ntobela has managed to improve the
performance and also improved the standing of the province compared to the other
provinces in terms of crime.
Mpumalanga was rated number seven at the end of 2009/2010
financial year, but we have since improved as we now hold position number 4 as
at the end of 2010/2011 financial year.
The measurement is in terms of all the functions taking
place at police station level such as crime reporting, investigations, reaction
time to attend to complaints and the performance of the support components to
assist the operational environment in the fight against crime.
Honourable Speaker, let me mention that the detective
services in our province received an excellent rating as compared to other
provinces in the country, putting them in second place as at the end of
2010/2011 financial year.
This achievement proves that we are the best in the
country by exceeding expectations as police have also managed to achieve all
their targets in terms of cases detected indicating that SAPS Mpumalanga is also
in line with national priorities regarding crimes against women and children.
The police attended to 501 unrest situations in the
province and the public protests were dealt with professionally and efficiently.
Regardless of the fact that only 235 members were deployed to deal with the
unrests provincial wide, we have managed to contain the situation in a
commendable manner.
The province has adopted a tough stance on corruption,
including within SAPS itself. A total number of 37 police officers were
convicted for corruption in the province during the 2010/2011 financial year.
The place of the convicted officers will be easily filled
by the 180 entry-level officers recruited.
With these achievements, the province has managed to
decrease crime overall during the financial year which ended in March this year
as there were significant decreases in Trio Crimes which include car hi-jacking,
house and business robberies as well as on contact crime such as murder and
assault.
Honourable speaker, allow me to highlight the following
successes achieved by the police. They confiscated more than 23 000 dangerous
weapons including knifes and illegal firearms, close to 14 000 kilograms of
dagga, mandrax and other drugs. Recovered stolen vehicles and arrested more than
70 000 suspects for all crime categories in Mpumalanga under life hostile
situations.
Regardless of the achievements attributed to the police,
they still face challenges in their endeavour to curb crime.
Nevertheless, police should be commended for the passion
they demonstrated to ensure that our province is a safe place to live in.
Crime Prevention and Community Police Relations
As part of ensuring that women and children are safe, the
department successfully coordinated the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence
against Women and Children campaign last year. The opening and closing
ceremonies for the campaign were held at Bushbuckridge (Lillydale) and Vosman
(Emalahleni) respectively. Provincial wide campaigns where all departments and
state agencies participated were conducted.
The campaign was supported by a wide range of
stakeholders, including the private sector.
We wish to applaud the partnerships we had with the
private sector in particular ABSA and Standard Bank in supporting the opening
and the closing events of the campaign. We wish to further encourage the private
sector to partner with us as we work towards creating a crime free and safe
Mpumalanga.
Honourable Speaker, in the previous financial year, we had
also prioritized campaigns on crime prevention such as tourists safety
campaigns, gender based violence campaigns, school safety, anti-rape campaigns,
border security campaigns, anti-stock theft campaigns, anti-illegal mining
campaigns, moral regeneration campaigns, human trafficking and campaigns on
assault GBH among others. All these campaigns were conducted successfully.
The department has since realized that victim empowerment
is an area that is still lagging behind in terms of support. We have since put
together a support programme which mainly focuses on ensuring that all police
stations have victim friendly facilities.
For the year under review, at least 10 victim empowerment
centres were supported through the implementation of programmes on gender based
awareness, rape, child abuse and drugs awareness, recruitment of volunteers and
provision of equipment to ensure effective functioning of the centres.
Mr Speaker, we also managed to develop two municipal
safety plans for Emalahleni and Nkomazi municipalities as per the 2010/2011
plans. These safety plans will assist in the systematic address of all safety
and security issues with proper support from all departments, mainly focusing on
environmental design factors in the municipalities and cross cutting issues that
impact on the safety of communities.
Furthermore Honourable Members, in line with the National
Crime Prevention strategy, the department continues to enhance the functionality
of Multi-Agency Mechanism structures at local municipal level. These MAM
structures assist in coming up with a consolidated and inclusive intervention to
all developmental issues that are cross-cutting among state organs, including
matters of policing.
We have noted though that there are functionality
challenges of these structures especially in Gert Sibande and Nkangala Regions.
We will continue to engage our partners at local
government level to ensure that these structures really deliver on their
mandate, that of integrated, community driven crime prevention.
The relationship between the police and the community
police forums is generally sound and healthy, however, we have noted that there
are challenges at the support level, and together with SAPS, we will address
those challenges. We have vigorously been involved in ensuring that all police
stations have functional CPFs. The process is underway to ensure that there is a
functioning CPF structure at the Pienaar Police Station.
It is our considered view that, paramount to economic
development, is the provision of safety and security to our tourists and
visitors. This also assisted in the creation of job opportunities through the
Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) for the youth who have been sitting at
home not knowing what to do.
In the previous financial year, the department deployed
500 tourist safety monitors throughout the province. They were trained to assist
the police in crime related activities targeted to tourists. The department is
still continuing with the deployment of tourism safety monitors. 511 monitors
have been deployed in the three regions of the province in the current financial
year, 277 in Ehlanzeni, 123 Gert Sibande and 111 in Nkangala Region and all
these monitors get stipends at the end of each month. We
commit ourselves in sustaining the project and the number will be gradually
increased in future.
To further curb crime, the department has planned five
initiatives which will look into addressing issues of contact crime, rural
safety, victim empowerment and vulnerable groups.
The department will also engage in a vigorous exercise of
promoting safety at schools. Anti-substance abuse campaigns, symposia and
debates at schools on safety issues and prison visits will be implemented in
this regard.
Mr Speaker, the department together with other
stakeholders such as the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, SAPS
and Liquor Board were directed by the Provincial Executive Council to
investigate operations of liquor outlets including the location of the outlets
within the human settlement set-up in the province. This
exercise revealed that most liquor outlets do not comply with the conditions of
trading as stipulated on their licenses.
This links with analysis drawn from crime statistics that
indicate that most of contact crimes, particularly assaults and murders are
linked to the abuse of liquor hence the department deemed it necessary to
strengthen the tavern and shebeen owners’ capacity building programmes.
The department would massively mobilize tavern and shebeen
owners to comply with the legislation regulating their businesses and educate
them on the principle of responsible drinking.
A number of workshops will be conducted in all the regions
by the department and some relevant stakeholders in the province to address the
identified problems. The department is also set to engage stakeholders widely
with a view to solicit partnership in order to fight the social ills of alcohol
abuse.
Many good citizens versus few criminals
Honourable members, in his Policy and Budget Speech on 24
May 2011, our Premier, Mr DD Mabuza said that “As we continue to strengthen
overall government communication, we are also cognisant that public
participation provides one of the important platforms for government to interact
and communicate with citizens.
I am satisfied that over the last few years, government
has deepened a strong culture of interaction with citizens around development
and service delivery issues. Through izimbizo and our Cabinet Outreach
programmes, we have created platforms for engagement where communities raised
issues that require government intervention.”
I want to reiterate the Premier’s vision that as a
department, we will ensure that we constantly engage our people, not only when
it is time for elections but all the time in order to ensure that we deliver
what people want and according to their expectations. This will better arm the
many good citizens of the province to win the war against the few criminals.
For this financial year under the Crime Prevention and
Community Police Relations programme, the department has planned four Izimbizo.
Recently, the department conducted two Izimbizo, at
Breyten and Hlamalani in Msukaligwa and Bushbuckridge municipalities
respectively. Challenges were raised by various stakeholders including community
members. Stakeholders complained that access roads, street lights and street
names and numbers are among other factors that make police work to be more
difficult.
Working together with other partners such as
municipalities, these challenges should be addressed for the benefit of our
people.
The approach to these Izimbizo will resemble that of the
criminal justice system where all departments in the Justice and Crime
Prevention System cluster participate in mobilising and imparting information to
our people.
The department will ensure that the Izimbizo are preceded
by operations which will mainly consist of visits to taverns to check compliance
with the law, patrols and road blocks.
We are aiming to deal with compliance matters and to
encourage responsible trading and drinking among community members.
The department has conceived a campaign known as Overall
Friday which will be used as a vehicle to implement departmental projects. The
campaign is about reaching out to communities by assisting in terms of
resources, where possible to eliminate fear and restore normal life to people
who have been victims of crime.
The department with relevant stakeholders such as
departments in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster will assist in
handing over houses, painting victim support centres, working in police
stations, assisting in patrolling streets, and other operations in support of
CPF’s, patrol teams and the police. Some of the projects have already been
implemented.
The projects include the hand-over of a two-bedroom house
worth R130 000 built by a Mpumalanga business man, Mr Sipho Busani in Matsulu,
donation of food parcels and blankets, handover of school uniforms to school
children and painting of victim empowerment centres.
Human Resource Management
Honourable Speaker, in terms of Human Resource Management,
I am proud to report that the department is currently standing at 48 percent
women representation in senior management level.
In terms of our employment equity plan; we are convinced
that the national target of 50 percent gender representation is within reach. We
have managed to reach 2.5 percent of employment of people with disabilities at
all levels.
The Department aims to create and support a culture of
learning which will equip employees with skills and knowledge to enable them to
do their jobs effectively, extends their knowledge and competence while
increasing job satisfaction and achieving departmental objectives.
Fifteen departmental staff members were awarded bursaries
in the last financial year to further their studies for the purposes mentioned
above.
Nine young people also benefited in terms of the
internship programme of the department, giving them an opportunity to sharpen
their skills to increase their chances of getting full time employment in both
private and the public sector.
Two young people were awarded bursaries and we have
planned to award two more this current financial year.
Civilian Oversight
Honourable members, as per our Constitutional imperatives,
the department is tasked with a mandate of civilian oversight over police
stations. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa puts a responsibility
on us to do among others the following:
- Monitor police conduct.
- Oversee the effectiveness and efficiency of the
police service including receiving reports on the police service.
- Assess the effectiveness of visible policing.
- Investigate or appoint a commission of
enquiry into any complaints of police inefficiency or breakdown in relation
between the police and the community
It is in the light of this constitutional mandate that
this programme which was referred to Monitoring and Evaluation is now being
called Civilian Oversight. This programme is now comprised of
two sub-programmes namely Policy and Research and Monitoring and Evaluation. Its
purpose is to exercise oversight functions over the police in the province.
Mr Speaker, through this programme, the department managed
to monitor and evaluate 40 police stations in the previous financial year to
determine the effectiveness of visible policing.
Through Monitoring and Evaluation processes on the
implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, it was noticed that there are
challenges in the application and implementation of the Act.
The focus this year will be to ensure that all the
stations comply with the prescript of the law when it comes to the application
of the Domestic Violence Act. The number of police stations to be monitored and
evaluated will be increased to 56 this financial year.
As part of fighting crime and supporting the South African
Police Services, this Department conducted research on the impact of liquor on
crime and the extent of stock theft in the Province.
It was found that there is a connection between liquor
abuse and crime. As such the Department and the SAPS has adopted an
uncompromising stance against those liquor outlets owners who are not compliant.
The department will partner with a range of stakeholders
including the liquor board as part of implementing the findings of the research
and thus seeking ways of addressing the factors contributing to abuse of liquor
and non compliance on the part of traders.
Stock-theft continues to plague this province and
negatively affect commercial farmers as well as emerging farmers. The Department
and the police are working together with the farmers in seeking solutions to
this scourge. This relationship will be extended to the Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development and Land Administration.
As part of the rural safety programme, sector policing
will be enhanced in areas where stock theft is rampant. We urge our community to
work with government and provide information to the police about people who are
involved in stock theft.
We also urge stock owners to mark and brand their stock as
this will make it difficult for thieves to steal and sell stolen stock. Most
importantly it will assist the police to recover stolen stock and hand it over
to the rightful owners. Auctioneers are also requested to ensure that whoever
sells stock at the auction is in possession of the required documentation.
During the course of this financial year, research
orientated approach to crime will be enhanced. The Department has planned to
conduct four more crime related studies to ensure that it provide a strategic
and scientific informed response to the scourge of crime which are community
perception survey, Victim of crime survey, Research on house robberies and crime
root cause analysis survey.
During this financial year, the department will develop a
computerized complaints management system and improve the manner in which it
handles and manages all complaints raised by our people.
Honourable speaker, we are proud as a department that we
have responded on time to questions raised by Members of this House, community
outreach issues including Legislature petitions. We shall continue to respect
our Legislature even in this financial year by responding to all crime related
issues raised by Honourable members in order to enhance our service to the
people.
Traffic Management
We are presenting our Policy and Budget Speech for this year in the wake of the exciting news that Traffic Management, from the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport has been transferred to our department as of yesterday the 1st of June 2011.
This Chief Directorate comes to our department with five sub-directorates which are law enforcement, load control, safety engineering, road safety education and traffic inspectorate.
Traffic management is mandated to provide a safe road environment in the province through the regulation of traffic flow on public roads. It is also responsible for load control, implementation of road safety campaigns as well as the registration and licensing of vehicles and drivers.
The focus for the financial year will be on:
- Reducing road fatalities in line with the Decade of Action on Road
Safety
- Recruiting more stakeholders into our fold so that almost all
privately owned companies take part in improving road safety awareness in
Mpumalanga
- Educating children at pre-school as part of the road safety 2050
strategy to ensure that learners are involved in road safety matters at an
early age.
- Lobbying private sector companies to build more Junior Traffic
Training Centres [JTTC] in the province
- Engaging pre-schools and primary schools to take part in the JTTC
competition so as to widen the knowledge of young drivers on road safety
issues.
- Drunken driving and vigorous law enforcement to those who fail to obey the rules of the road.
Honourable Speaker, this house should take note that we will come as a department to present a revised annual performance plan which will be inclusive of an action for this Chief Directorate, including its budget after all the transfer logistics have been finalized.
However, in view of the successes listed by my colleague, MEC Clifford
Mkasi on 31 May 2011 in as far as the performance of this component is
concerned, most of the campaigns and programmes will be carried forward and
implemented with vigor within the Overall Friday Campaign approach.
These campaigns include the enhancement of the Arrive Alive drive, Driver of the Year Competition and road shows to promote safety among road users.
Conclusion
In order to succeed in our mission to fight crime in the province, the department will continue to strive for perfection under the leadership of the newly appointed Head of Department, Mr Thulani Sibuyi. This will be realized through the achievement of the strategic goals and objectives of the department as captured in our performance plan.
The sole intention is to ensure that all “All People in South Africa ARE and FEEL safe”.
Mr Speaker, let me thank the Honourable Premier of the Province, Mr
David Mabuza for his visionary leadership. I would also like to thank all
Executive Committee Members,
Members of the Provincial Legislature and the Portfolio Committee and
its chairperson for their continued support to departmental projects, the HOD Mr
Thulani Sibuyi, senior management and staff members of
the Department of Safety, Security and Liaison for their commitment and dedication. In the department we also work with other stakeholders such as the JCPS cluster, CPFs, business people, municipalities and the media and it is vital that we thank them for continued support and guidance that they give to us.
Lastly Mr Speaker, I want to thank my wife and my family for not complaining when I spend sleepless nights and weekends away from home chasing criminals.
Honourable Members, I as MEC responsible for the Department of Safety, Security and Liaison in Mpumalanga table the budget for the 2011/2012 financial year for adoption and approval as follows:
Programme 1 (Administration) : Sixty Three Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty Three Thousand Rands (R63 983)
Programme 2 (Civilian Oversight) : Twelve Million, Six Hundred and Thirty Thousand Rands (R12 630)
Programme 3 (Crime Prevention and Community Police Relations : (Forty Five Million, Nine Hundred and Forty Thousand Rands (R45 940)
Total : One Hundred and Twenty Two Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Three Thousand Rands (R122 553)
In light of the transfer of the Traffic Management programme from the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport to our department, Programme 4 will be introduced in the near future.
Together Let’s Fight Crime
I thank you
