Integrated Justice System (IJS): SAPS, Treasury

Meeting report

Input by National Treasury – IJS Programme

[PMG missed the first hour of the meeting and subsequently missed National Treasury’s presentation – see presentation attached].

The aim of the presentation was to brief the Committee on the issues underlying the budget allocation and spending for the implementation of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) 7 Point Plan. The CJS 7 Point Plan incorporated both the Integrated Justice System (IJS) and CJS Revamp and Modernisation programmes.

The first allocation was made in 2002/03 for the ISJ programme. The objective of the programme was to electronically enable and integrate the end-to-end criminal justice system processes through technology solutions and to manage the inter-departmental information exchanges across the criminal justice system.

As at the end of the 2017​/18 financial year, over R6 billion (total allocation across all participating departments) had been allocated towards the implementation f the IJS programme since inception. Following the review of the criminal justice system in 2007, additional allocations of R2.9 billion were made to SAPS over the 2009 medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) to provide for modernisation aspects of the programme. Furthermore, the programme was renamed the Criminal Justice System Revamp and Modernisation programme.

The additional allocations were specifically for the modernisation and revamp of SAPS CJS systems as well as the capacitation of detective services. Consequently, this increased the SAPS CJS 7 Point Plan budget from R249 million in 2009/10 to R2.1 billion in 2011/12.

National Treasury concerns on the implementation of the CJS point plan:

-Planning followed funding and not the other way around

-Project scope too broad.

-No specific timeline for the completion of the programme

-No indication of when funds must move on to other departments within the CJS value chain - meanwhile, funds are used to augment budget shortfalls in SAPS.

National Treasury concluded by detailing a list of recommendations.

The Chairperson thanked National Treasury for an excellent presentation, but also said it was a very sobering experience to ask, R6 billion later, what the outcomes are. It was quite clear that the money was earmarked for detective services and most of the issues are now line functions or items.

SAPS on the Integrated Justice System (IJS) / Criminal Justice System (CJS)

Maj Gen J Nelson, Acting Divisional Commissioner: Financial Aid and Administration Services, SAPS, said the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) was developed in 1996, consisting of the four “Pillars”

-National Programmes – The Criminal Justice Process.

- Reducing Crime through environmental design.

- Public Values and Education

-Transitional Crime

IJS birthed out the Pillar 1 of NCPS to modernise the entire Criminal Justice System and the programme was then conceptualised in 2003 which was joint venture between the Justice Crime Prevention & Security (JCPS) Cluster departments. Due to budget shortfalls within IJS allocations, a review of the criminal justice system was done and approved by Cabinet in 2007

This resulted in the CJS Programme conceptualisation in 2007 with the 7 Point Plan. At the time, only SAPS submitted a request for additional funds relating to point 4, 5 and 6 of the 7 Point Plan for increased personnel, increased facilities and equipment, attraction and retention of experienced and skilled staff through career pathing.

The Office for the Criminal Justice System Reform (OCJSR) commenced with implementation of the 7 Point Plan during June 2008 under the auspices of Deputy Minister De Lange. The departure of Deputy Minister De Lange resulted in the CJS Programmes Governance fading out and currently the CJS Programme did not have a governance structure

Section 2 of the presentation covered the linked projects to points 4 and 6 Of The Criminal Justice System 7 Point Plan; and Section 3 covered the MTEF allocations in line with the CJS 7 Point Plan that amounted to R1.4 billion

National Treasury was of the opinion that over the years, the CJS programme within SAPS has been expanded to incorporate other components which were initially not part of the approved project scope at inception. SAPS must submit a revised project scope for the implementation of the CJS 7 Point Plan and clearly outline and describe the new project components added to the programme since inception, and these are funded through the earmarked budget, e.g. maintenance, procurement of consumables, etc. The revised project scope must be approved by the JCPS Director-Generals forum, and thereafter, by Cabinet.

SAPS’ proposal to shift funding for the recurring costs to the baseline of SAPS must also be endorsed by the JCPS Cluster and Cabinet. No funds may be spent from the earmarked budget if conditions 1 and 2 have not been fulfilled. In the Adjustments Estimate process, R150 million will be suspended from SAPS budget as per National Treasury indication. National Treasury also took a decision to move all IJS (Transversal and SAPS specific projects) to Department of Justice and Constitutional Affairs from 2019/20 and subsequent years.

Maj Gen Nelson contiued to outline the CJS planned projects expenditure; as well as the deliverables and successes.

In order to address the concerns raised by National Treasury, SAPS did the following:

-Conformed to the timelines of Treasury and submitted project plans for the 2018 ENE period

-Identified clear objectives and deliverables for project implementation

-Costing per project, excluding recurring costs

-Identify all recurring commitments that will require migration to the baseline

-Annual IJS/CJS budget allocations to reflect existing or new projects

-Ensure procurement vehicles for project implementation

-Communication with the Justice Secretariat

 

Discussion

The Chairperson said quarterly reports are important as it related to governance and he asked why there have been no quarterly reports. In the previous engagement it was raised who the programme manager for this project was. He asked for some information on the performance agreement and if there are no quarterly reports forwarded to National Treasury, he asked what consequence management was in play. He asked what the plan was to deal with the capacity constraints.

Ms D Kohler Barnard (DA) asked why Treasury had not just stopped the money. It seemed that SAPS has failed dismally to account, e.g. the maintenance contracts issues, illegally using the money to buy consumables, failure to give progress reports, etc. Surely it was within Treasury’s power to stop the money, because SAPS has failed to meet the terms agreed on. Billions were at stake and on slide 19 SAPS stated that ‘Treasury was of the opinion’. Treasury did not have an opinion - it was facts. It was unbelievable that these funds are being used for consumables and recurring costs. The statement by Treasury that SAPS took the money first and planned afterwards was impossible to believe. This Committee trusted SAPS to do what was right and six years and billions later there was nothing to show for it. She said she was horrified and asked for the maintenance contract issue to be explained at length. She referred to the R33.3 million Service Integration Bus (SiBUS) project with no milestone deliverables being reached and mentioned that the Committee has asked numerous times for a list of stations to go and see the upgrades. She asked how much money has been spent on this project to date. On the electronic integration of SAPS and Social Development, she asked if probation officers are receiving electronic notifications when children in conflict with the law are detained. She referred to the R18 million SAPS failed to spend on the ICT equipment ICDMS Investigation Case Project and she asked it was ‘another non-starter’? She referred to the ‘nice-to haves’ such as the digital pens and asked where they are really happening. It seemed that SAPS was hanging onto the money despite not being able to spend it and having sent just 69% of the allocation. On the DNA database, she said she went to Newlands East Police Station a week ago and was told that there were no buccal swab kits and that there was no point in asking the province, because it had none and yet billions are spent on the DNA Project. She asked if there had been any successes through the implementation of the PIVA at the rhino poaching unit or OR Tambo and what the cost of that app was.

Ms M Molebatsi (ANC) asked why SAPS has not submitting quarterly progress reports to Treasury as required and why SAPS has not submitted the revised project scope to the JCPS Cluster for approval. What led to the under expenditure on IJS funds during the 2017/18 financial year? What was the impact of the suspension of the Commissioner of Technology Management Services (TMS)?

Ms M Mmola (ANC) asked why the CJS programme had to be extended to incorporate other components that were originally not part of the approved project scope at inception. What components were included? She asked for a copy of the document submitted to the JCPS Cluster and Cabinet that outlined the revised scope and implementation of the 7 Point Plan. What factors led to the delay in the approval of the ICDMS e-learning programme? The programme was approved in April 2018 and she asked for details on the roll-out of the training programme. Slide four stated the achievements on the SiBUS project despite expenditure of R33.3 million during 2017/18 and none of the mandatory deliverables have been reached.

Mr J Maake (ANC) said he was not sure how Treasury allocated funds to departments, but it was surprising that funds were allocated without some sort of a project plan. If it was allowed it cannot be cited as a problem now and it should have been sorted from the onset. It meant money was given not knowing what the deliverables were. If money was ‘given for a project’ the speculation might be that the money can be used for anything that involved the project, i.e. training, consumables, vehicles, etc. This was a very important project that will definitely make a difference in the CJS, but “it was messed up”.

Ms L Mabija (ANC) said SAPS had good strategic plans, but wanted to know how these plans are aligned to the CJS 7 Point Plan.

Mr Z Mbhele (DA) said what the Committee heard today about these projects was another classic example of a ‘noteworthy idea with messy implementation’ which was far too common in the public sector. This programme has been a ‘nebulous floating thing’ within the SAPS environment for a long time without anybody having a firm grasp or actively driving it. Slide 20 indicated the allocation for CJS for this financial year was R1.4 billion, but slides 40-41 that outlined the planned CJS projects showed half that amount. He asked for an explanation. He referred to CJS projects outlined on slides 58-59 and said these projects still did not directly related to CJS/IJS and he asked for clarifications and he asked for comment from Treasury as well.

Ms Molebatsi said she just learned that the meeting between SAPS and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) of today had to be postponed, because of unavailability of the forensic report on FDA. She asked what SAPS’ take was on that.

National Treasury responded and said the comment, “the planning followed the funding” referred to the initial allocation made in 2007. At the time there was a political champion, Mr Johnny De Lange who advocated for the funds and provided detailed explanations on what the money would be used for. There was no plan in terms of the specifics and the expected outcomes. The funding was allocated on the basis of the high level motivation at the time around the need for the modernisation and capacitating detective services. Over the years, National Treasury did correct this and it was made compulsory for the Department to submit plans every year before money was allocated to correct the initial oversight.

On stopping the money, Treasury responded that this has been considered, but not everything around the programme has been bad – there have been good aspects of the programme. There have been instances where Treasury has actually reduced the baseline where projects or consumables that are not in line with the scope of the programme have been added. Treasury has been careful not to take the radical approach in stopping the money, because there has been ongoing engagement between Treasury and SAPS on the gaps and how it can be improved. This was the ninth year and this year SAPS was told there will be a hold on the spending and the proper processes needed to be followed to have the scope formally amended. There have been changes in management that impacted the implementation of the programme and good work had been done around the ICDMS. There was no justification for stopping the allocation holistically, but there are elements where the money should be taken.

On the consumables, SAPS was told in 2017/18 and 2018/19 that it will not be funded from the CJS allocation, because it did not form part of the scope. Going forward, it was not expected to see this item and a lot of work has been done. Even though Treasury disagreed with using the money for consumables, if the money was taken, there will be consequences for the forensic services component. Treasury did not want to compromise forensic services until all the issues have been dealt with and the Department changed the project scope.

Mr Mbhele asked if the CJS project on slides 58 and 59 was subject to the formal review or approval process involving the Cluster structure and Cabinet.

Treasury added that those items on the slides have not been approved by National Treasury yet.

Lt Gen S Mfazi, Deputy National Commissioner: Management Advisory Services, SAPS, mentioned the questions on governance, i.e. performance agreement, and consequence management and capacity and said as an institution, SAPS engaged on the CJS and IJS programmes precisely for the optimal utilisation of technology available to the institution. The purpose of the exercise was to fight crime and to achieve that, SAPS needed to develop some kind of technological management strategy and the National Commissioner has alluded to that; and subsequent to that was an implementation framework relating to technological management in the SAPS.

On performance agreements he said, it has always been there in SAPS, but there was a meeting with the audit committee in October to review the performance agreements to be in line with the requirements of the institution – not overlooking CJS and IJS as one of the issues that needed to be performance managed through the people involved. Consequence management was equally as important and in terms of capacity building, he acknowledged that on project management and coordinating activities in other government departments, SAPS was lacking and has been interacting with various institutions to try and develop capacity.

Lt Gen Mfazi said when he got appointed; programme and project management was directly under his Office and a Major-General was appointed to take responsibility for that aspect. It was quickly realised that the office was managing projects it was not supposed to manage. If people are capacitated they will begin to understand that a project has a lifespan and SAPS has been sitting with this project and the final analysis showed the Department not achieving what it wanted to achieve.

On planning, he said in view of SAPS’s strategic direction, it was critical to ensure that the kind of interaction SAPS was having with other government departments under the auspices of the CJS and IJS, be successful. A plan has been developed with the project manager and the finance department as the leading agency so that allocations happened as per the plan for that division. He said the DNA kits project was up and running and stations were well equipped.

He mentioned the quarterly reports and said there had been a communication breakdown between SAPS and Treasury, because the reports had been sent to Strategic Management and the report will now be sent directly to Treasury.

On the revised project scope, he said it would be covered by Lt Gen Mantsi, but mentioned the importance of contingency planning for the success of any project and SAPS has been lacking that aspect. On the impact of the TMS Divisional Commissioner, he said the division was functioning properly and the Acting Divisional Commissioner was doing well.

On SAPS failing to meet the terms, Lt Gen Mfazi said in view of the system being developed in terms of working on the strategic direction of CJS and IJS, he said SAPS will be able to respond and meet the terms of the programmes.

Maj Gen Nelson replied on the amounts on slide 41 and he referred the Committee to slide 15 that showed a summary of the amounts allocated for the current financial year in terms of the initial planning. This was how the amounts have been appropriated for the current financial year. If reconciled, that amount was only for TMS (R747.6 million).

On the under spending he said, Members will recall when SAPS appeared for the Annual Report, it was noted that the current investigations taking place in the Department with regard to spending utilisation, there were invoices received that have not been paid – pending the conclusion of the investigations. A portion can also be ascribed to some dependencies in terms of procurement vehicles towards the end of the year; as well as invoices at the end of the financial year to which Treasury’s regulations have been applied in terms of the compliance framework. Maintenance and recurring commitments will be prioritised from the baseline going forward and the revised project scope the Department was developing will only focus on new projects that fit into the 7 Point Plan. The Department now needed to demonstrate to the broader cluster that each of the projects complied with the requirements of the 7 Point Plan. Going forward, through this newly created structure in terms of the Project Management Office and the CFO Office where specific instructions are provided by the National Commissioner as direction to oversee the implementation and monitoring. There has been regular reporting to the Committee, and there has been reporting to Treasury, but he also acknowledged the required quarterly reporting to Treasury did not take place.

Lt Gen N Masiye, Divisional Commissioner: TMS, SAPS, referred to the alignment of the strategy, and said point four of the plan talked to implementing key priorities identified for CJS and the impact on the new court process. There are systems that are integrated with the courts. Dockets are sent to courts for judgments or assessments to ensure convictions. E-dockets are used through scanning to make sure the information on the docket was not lost. Point six of the plan talked to modernising, in an integrated a holistic manner, all aspects of systems and equipment of the CJS. Although the ICDMS system has not been deployed in all police stations, 982 stations nationally use the system and the system will be implemented in phases in the remaining stations (167 police stations). These 167 stations included the Eastern Cape (61), Limpopo (32), Free State (5), Northern Cape (10), North West (19), Mpumalanga (11), and KZN (29).

Maj Gen E Mavundla, TMS, SAPS, said the digital pens are meant to improve the time spent on completing forms in the field. SAPS were currently in the process of procurement.

Maj Gen Z Gabela, TMS, SAPS, said PIVA was part of SiBUS and implementation was done by members of SAPS. It was being implemented at various stations in all the provinces with approximately 15 in each province. The PIVA budget formed part of SiBUS. On under spending he just added the delays in procurement processes and invoicing due to the internal investigations.

A SAPS official added that PIVA was being implemented at 274 stations and 140 000 suspects with previous convictions have been identified and identified 7 065 wanted persons. On the child suspects and integrations with Social Development, he said those integrations are currently in the testing phase.

Maj Gen E Mantsi, Head: Project Management, SAPS, said it has already been advocated by the National Commissioner and Deputy National Commissioner. The division has already started with the policy which had already been approved for implementation, giving governance to run all the projects. It was not only for the CJS, but all the projects in SAPS to make sure the projects are deliverable, timed, and that expenditure has been allocated. When looking at deliverables, procurement processes are also considered, The reporting, as directed by the National Commissioner, will be consolidated in the Project Office. The skills audit has been finalised that was required for capacitation for programme and project management to ensure implementation. On the revised project plan, she said it has been finalised and submitted to the Department of Justice and Treasury and SAPS was now seeking an audience with the Department to have the plan approved.

The Chairperson asked, of the current IJS/CJS projects, how many (percentage) are quarantined in terms of the SCOPA FDA matter in the current financial year.

Ms Kohler Barnard said she made a statement that she went to Newlands East police station about 11 days ago and there were zero buccal swabs and no DNA kits at all. The response was ‘the stations are well equipped’. That station was not well equipped – it had nothing. She said she will continue to visit police stations and perhaps it was time for Lt Gen Mfazi to visit the stations.

Lt Gen Mfazi referred to the postponement of the SCOPA meeting because of the forensic report and he said there was a forensic investigation being done as it related to the issues of FDA and the report was available, but there might be technicalities not available at the SCOPA meeting.

Ms Molebatsi asked where the report was.

Lt Gen Mfazi said he did not know. On the DNA kits, he said he will do a follow-up and he will report to the Committee.

Ms Kohler Barnard said if she said something did or did not exist at a police station, she did not expect someone of Lt Gen Mfazi’s caliber to just brush it aside.

Lt Gen Masiye replied on the money utilised for maintenance and said maintenance was on all the systems procured and deployed at the police station since the inception of the IJS/CJS.

Ms Kohler Barnard asked if the system has been in place since 2008.

Lt Gen Masiye clarified that the system has been there since 2008 and she was talking to the holistic expenditure. There are systems that have been deployed after 2008 and other systems were deployed three years ago. On the FDA contracts, she said only one project (PCAM) has been impacted by the FDA investigation.

Ms Kohler Barnard asked what happened three years ago. Was there a period when there no maintenance? Were new contracts signed?

Lt Gen Masiye said since 2008 it was known that SAPS had systems it procured and she said she was citing an example when she said three years back there were other systems that were deployed and those systems are still maintained. The expenditure spoke to all the maintenance over those years. Upgrades on the systems are done.

Ms Kohler Barnard asked Treasury clarifying the issue on the maintenance contracts.

National Treasury clarified that with the projects that came with the CJS, maintenance costs were not billed into the allocation and were funded separately and this was done for a number of years. This was why currently a big chunk of the allocation went towards maintenance.

The Chairperson referred to PCAM, and he asked what was the under spending in terms of millions.

A SAPS official said equipment was procured and had to be serviced and calibrated periodically. It was important, because courts can refuse forensic reports if there was no certificate of calibration. The initial allocation was for equipment, but the equipment must be maintained and consumables to run the equipment.

Lt Gen Mfazi explained on the under expenditure that PCAM was one of those contracts under forensic investigation.

Maj Gen Mantsi asked that the request for a copy of the document submitted to the JCPS Cluster and Cabinet that outlined the revised scope and implementation of the 7 Point Plan be responded to in writing.

Mr Maake said the systems belonged to a Cluster and the Committee was talking to SAPS and it did not give an idea what was happening in Home Affairs, Justice, etc. He asked if it was possible for those responsible in all these departments to appear before the Committee. He referred to the digital pens and technological advances in general and asked if some of these systems needed legislative amendments to admissible in court.

Ms Kohler Barnard said the PIVA success was amazing and she asked what the cost was and it differed from the fingerprint system and other machinery. She asked for more details on the social development electronic integration.

The Chairperson asked on the money transferred from the budget to Home Affairs and the indication from National Treasury that all the projects have not been approved and he asked if the projects on pages 45-46 will be implemented in this financial year.

Lt Gen Mfazi said SAPS was looking at the firearms programme with the Hawks aiming to establish if there was compliance with the protocols of the United Nations. It will only established through interaction with the systems and he wanted to emphasise the importance of interaction through the systems. On technology and legislation he said, in the review of the Strategic Plan, the Minister has given SAPS a sub-task to look at legislation hindering the work. Some of the legislation have been referred to the legal department.

Maj Gen Nelson said the R264 million that have been suspended from the allocation and shifted to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) for requirements and enhancements on its Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and HANIS system. On spending he said the planning and procurement vehicles are being put in place and once approved it can be initiated. The amounts that will be reprioritised from the baseline allocation are the recurring commitments, not project funding. Once approved through the Cluster and National Treasury, spending can be initiated in the current financial year.

Mr Maake asked for the timeframe given by the Minister to come up with all legislation that needed to be amended. He mentioned body cameras and said it has been talked about so much and it might happen that legislation could hinder it and amending legislation can take a long time.

A SAPS official responded and said internal services are in consultation with the Justice Department, because whatever evidence gathered from body worn cameras must be ensured to be admissible.

Brigadier M Ngake, Project Management: TMS, SAPS, said with PIVA used four fingerprints and an ID number for verification and identification through Home Affairs while the AFIS system worked with 10 fingerprints. On expenditure, he said PIVA was part of the overall programme and very difficult to isolate.

National Treasury emphasised that in terms of the 2018/19 allocation to SAPS for the CJS, approval will only happen once they concluded the process. The concern was it was already seven months into the financial year.

The meeting was adjourned.