SAPS, IPID & CSPS Special Adjustments Budget; with Minister & Deputy Minister

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Police

10 July 2020
Chairperson: Ms T Joemat-Petterssen (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video: SAPS, IPID & CSPS Adjusted budget & Revised Annual Performance Plan

The Committee held a virtual meeting on the South African Police Service, Civilian Secretariat for Police Service and Independent Police Investigate Directorate’s adjustments budget allocations and the impact this will have on service delivery. The Minister of Police was present.

In April 2020, the President announced a R500 billion fiscal support package that included spending towards COVID-19 priorities, which necessitated an adjusted annual budget. The Minister of Finance tabled the 2020 Supplementary Budget in June together with the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill [B09-2020] and Adjustments Appropriation Bill, 2020 [B10-2020]. As part of the budget adjustment process, Departments were required to amend their 2020/21 Annual Performance Plans and 2020-2025 Strategic Plans to accommodate these budgetary changes. Departments had to identify programmes and/or activities to suspend, or that were already on hold due to the lockdown.

SAPS reported that the Special Adjustment Budget increased the Main Allocation with R3.7 billion, from R101.7 billion to a revised allocation of R105.411 billion, which is a nominal increase of 3.6%. SAPS made virements of R1.136 billion to COVID-19 purposes, from Goods and services (-R379.5 million) and Payments for capital assets (-R756.5 million). This, together with the additional allocation of R3.7 billion totals a reallocation of R4.836 billion.

The COVID-19 Pandemic had a significant impact on the targets for the Modernisation of SAPS Network. The SAPS reduced the planned 45 sites for implementation of the digital radio communication infrastructure to only three. The SAPS indicated that this is due to delays in the establishment of contracts, scheduling of bid specification meetings, advertisement of tenders and conducting site visits for individual procurement. Further factors include delays in implementation of radio infrastructure and construction of radio towers/masts and the delivery of imported radio equipment. Similarly, the SAPS reduced the identification of National Network Communication (WAN) sites modernised and implemented from 488 to 65 sites. The SAPS indicated that there were delays in publishing and procurement, mainly due to a reduced personnel availability of SITA. The Information Technology Industry is not able to respond to contracts/bids. Establishment of new cabling contract is currently on hold as urgent procurement is prioritised.

The CSPS had its budget of R156 million cut by R12 million. This has resulted in the cutting of some of the programmes. The CSPS identified 10 out of 29 output indicators that were affected. The real impact of the budget cuts to the entity will see that fieldwork to conduct Community Police Forum monitoring and assessment reports, be suspended. The quarterly targets of the Department will also be shifted from the 3rd to the 4th quarters. The sub-programme of izimbizos will be reduced from the stipulated target of eight to four and the Department has to resort to using virtual platforms.

IPID received a Main Appropriation of R355.7 million in 2020/21, which was a nominal increase of 5.6% compared to the previous financial year. National Treasury did not reduce the budget allocation due to an already constrained budget.

IPID reported that there was a greater need to safeguard and protect their officials including Investigators against the impact of COVID-19 through implementing appropriate measures including procurement and distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). The entity had spent an amount of R1,2 million on the procurement of PPEs and the number of officials at IPID offices coming to office has been reduced with most employees working remotely. Regular screening of officials and visitors to the IPID offices is being conducted.

Members of the Committee raised concern over the procurement of the PPE. They wanted the entities to provide a complete breakdown of their procurements as there were significant discrepancies in the prices of these equipment. All three entities were also asked what they were doing to ensure that safety and health protocols of their members were being adhered to. Members questioned how the Department would be responding to the challenge of gender based violence given the cuts to their respective budgets. Gender based violence was a second pandemic facing South Africa and therefore the units charged with combating gender based violence needed to be capacitated. The Committee also encouraged the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service to foster a better working relationship with communities and community policing forums as this was a valuable resource. A question was also raised about the rural safety strategy and the increase in farm attacks. The ICT infrastructure of each of the three entities were also discussed. Was the Department able to meet its service delivery demands remotely using technology? Members asked for an update on the progress of cases investigating police brutality and cases of misconduct.

Meeting report

The Chairperson said that the meeting might be affected by loadshedding. She asked the presenters to keep their presentations as short as possible as all the members had received the documents beforehand. This would allow time for the Committee members to discuss and have engagements with the presentations. She asked the Committee what the procedure would be if one of the members was disconnected from the meeting due to loadshedding? Would the meeting still continue?

Mr A Whitfield (DA) suggested that the meeting should continue as long as the Committee had a quorum.

The Committee agreed with the proposal.

The Chairperson appointed Mr Maphatsoe as the Acting Chairperson in the event that the Chairperson got disconnected from the meeting due to loadshedding.

Briefing by SAPS on the adjustment budget allocations and impact on delivery programmes

Minister Bheki Cele and a delegation from SAPS including General Sitole, Lt Gen Dimpane and Lt Gen Riet gave the presentation on the adjustment budget allocations and its impact on service delivery programmes. National Treasury revised the SAPS budget due to the impact of COVID-19.

Gen Khehla Sitole, National Commissioner, SAPS, said that SAPS would be presenting the revised budget and the revised priorities so that they could align to fight against the pandemic.

The presentation touched on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mandate of the Department, 2020 Special Adjustments Estimates of National Expenditure, Reprioritisation as a result of COVID-19 impact and the impact on service delivery. The presentation also highlighted and detailed the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE).

SAPS reported that the Special Adjustment Budget increased the Main Allocation with R3.7 billion, from R101.7 billion to a revised allocation of R105.411 billion, which is a nominal increase of 3.6%. SAPS made virements of R1.136 billion to COVID-19 purposes, from Goods and services (-R379.5 million) and Payments for capital assets (-R756.5 million). This, together with the additional allocation of R3.7 billion totals a reallocation of R4.836 billion.

The COVID-19 Pandemic had a significant impact on the targets for the Modernisation of SAPS Network. The SAPS reduced the planned 45 sites for implementation of the digital radio communication infrastructure to only three. The SAPS indicated that this is due to delays in the establishment of contracts, scheduling of bid specification meetings, advertisement of tenders and conducting site visits for individual procurement. Further factors include delays in implementation of radio infrastructure and construction of radio towers/masts and the delivery of imported radio equipment. Similarly, the SAPS reduced the identification of National Network Communication (WAN) sites modernised and implemented from 488 to 65 sites. The SAPS indicated that there were delays in publishing and procurement, mainly due to a reduced personnel availability of SITA. The Information Technology Industry is not able to respond to contracts/bids. Establishment of new cabling contract is currently on hold as urgent procurement is prioritised.

Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mandate of the Department

Outward looking role:

National State of Disaster, invoked on 15 March 2020, requiring the enforcement of the Disaster Management Act Regulations (Lockdown levels 5, 4 & 3).

Conducting of static roadblocks on all national routes & major routes in order to monitor, control & ensure adherence to the regulations.

Conducting of vehicle check points, on provincial routes, regional routes, rail routes, main streets in order to monitor, control & ensure adherence to the regulations.

Conducting of high visibility patrols to monitor, control & ensure adherence to the regulations.

Designated investigation capacity & case management.

Implementation of routine policing functions, as per the Objects of Policing, in accordance with S 205(3).

Inward looking role:

Protection & education of members, following Lockdown implementation:

Employee health & wellness & logistical matters (procurement & distribution of PPE).

Coordinated response to the impact of COVID-19 on members:

Contingency planning related to the availability of members for deployment.

2020 Special Adjustments Estimates of National Expenditure

The original 2020/21 estimated expenditure was R101 711 033. The adjusted estimated expenditure for 2020/21 was R105 411 033.

Reprioritisation as a result of COVID-19 impact

The submission forwarded to National Treasury reflecting on COVID-19 related expenditure planned and possibly to be incurred, in the current financial year amounted to R4.880 billion.

Core function activities at a higher intensity level were still being performed during lockdown phases, due to SAPS being an essential service.

Reserve Force members were deployed & various static & roving roadblocks were also deployed.

No reprioritisation from compensation of employees environment, at present.

Baseline reprioritisation towards COVID-19 expenditure, as well as additional allocation earmarked by National Treasury.

Some reprioritisations may be reconsidered, in-year, by National Treasury.

Building environment projects were delayed as a result of the lockdown phases implemented.

See Presentation

Discussion

Mr Whitfield had a few issues that he wanted clarity on. The total for procurement expenditure was around R1.5 billion. Nearly half of the total procurement expenditure was spent on 25 litre sanitiser containers. If the cost was broken down it came to R6362 per unit. Can SAPS explain what these containers were made from? What was their purpose? Why did they cost so much per unit? Tank disinfectant, 5 litres per unit, cost R12 558. Digital body thermometers cost R1700 per unit. He then moved to slide 17. The visible policing budget was increased by R3.7 billion. That entire allocation was directed to goods and services. He was concerned by the adjustment for firearm license applications from 90 days to 120 days. Was this related to the fact that SAPS was not currently printing firearm licences? He wanted to know what the reasons were for SAPS not printing any firearm licenses. Was this having a bearing on the extension? At the moment people were waiting longer than 120 days for their firearm license application to be complete. With the increase in budget allocation to visible policing will there be any additional funding to support the SAPS rural safety strategy given the increase in farm attacks over the last few months? How will these funds be used to keep farmers and farm workers safe?

Mr A Shaik Emam (NFP) said that the additional budget would be about R4 billion. Did SAPS think the R4 billion would be sufficient given the impact of COVID-19 which was expected to continue until the end of next year? Added to that is the fact that alcohol is now allowed to be sold. Serious and violent crime has been on the increase. He was particularly interested in the number of police officers that have been murdered while on duty. He wanted more information on that matter. Were there any additional measures or resources that the Department could use to ensure that those perpetrators, of crimes against the state, are attended to? He thanked SAPS for their excellent and professional service which he had personally experienced. He shared the concern of Mr Whitfield with regards to the cost of certain items being ridiculously high. He noted that there was a reduction in detectives in terms of resources. This was alarming given the fact that the detective service was already overburdened. He highlighted a concern with the organised crime unit in Durban. He said that the unit did not have enough vehicles. He wanted to be briefed on the impact of the large number of infections of officers. Many stations were being closed. What impact was this going to have on the human resources being able to perform their duties?

Mr O Terblanche (DA) said the presentation was silent on whether the police was going to recruit and appoint an additional 7000 members that was promised by the President this year. He wanted more information on that matter. Secondly, he noted that the goods and services budget was affected. He had a question on the purchasing of motor vehicles. Was SAPS going to still buy the number of motor vehicles that it budgeted for? Capital works was also affected quite a bit and this had been the case in previous years as well. This would make it three years without sufficient capital works. How do SAPS plan to filter that into their future budgets?

Ms J Mofokeng (ANC) said that there had been an allocation of R3.7 billion to visible policing which was welcomed. She wanted to know why there had been a reduction of the targets for gender based violence noting the issues of gender based violence challenging the country. Her second question was on goods and services. There was an additional allocation. The Department needed to provide some clarity on the matter as there had been a lot of questions about goods and services. She then had an issue with public works. She noticed that the asset has decreased by R756.5 million. There were police stations that were supposed to be built. She was worried that the Department was not providing any information on police stations that were left unfinished or incomplete. She noted a police station in Atteridgeville West that has taken between five to ten years to build. She then discussed crime intelligence. Why was there no additional funding? The vetting of police officers has been going slowly and now there was no additional funding. She could foresee the Department having a problem if this issue was not dealt with. She then asked for more clarity to be provided on the issue of the modernisation of SAPS and its ICT services. She wanted to know what the Department’s relationship was with CETA. She knew that for some time the Department had a problem with CETA. She welcomed the additional funding that would be paid to employees. The issue which was concerning was the officers who had been infected by COVID-19. How many were infected with COVID-19? This also resulted in the closing of police stations and created more problems.

Mr H Shembeni (EFF) said he did not see anything being done to improve the capacity of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units which help combat gender based violence. Violence against women and children was like another pandemic that the country was facing. Was SAPS doing anything to improve the FCS units nationwide? According to his knowledge SAPS had very few FCS units and members. The Department needed to look at capacitating the FCS. He also wanted to know why the targets for gender based violence were being reduced when gender based violence was a priority issue for government. He then spoke about the capital works projects. He asked the Department to explain how it was planning to re-introduce and finish the capital works projects that were suspended this year due to the pandemic? Those projects need to be re-scheduled because they have been suspended. What impact did the pandemic have on the performance targets in SAPS?

Dr P Groenewald (FF+) had a query on the modernisation of the SAPS network, specifically looking at the radio communications and the national network communication. There has been a huge decrease in the budget for this sector. Communication is essential for effective policing. Why was there a huge decrease in the numbers? He noted that there were certain issues that emerged due to COVID-19 such as domestic violence therefore the President had highlighted this. There has been a huge increase in farm attacks in South Africa specifically during this period. Recently there were 11 farm attacks in one day. He hoped that the Minister was aware of these attacks. What was the Minister going to do to address this specific matter? There was also a dramatic increase in the illegal invasion of land. He knew that there some technicalities in dealing with that matter. He wanted to know from the Minister how he planned on addressing the issue of illegal land invasions during the period of COVID-19.

Gen Sitole responded to the questions relating to rural safety strategy and the increase in budget for visible policing. He confirmed that rural safety was a priority within this budget increase. The development of a rural policing infrastructure was a priority. This deliverable was also intended to respond to the increase in farm murders. SAPS was looking at farm murders as a new ‘modus operandi’ as criminals were under pressure during COVID-19. He then responded to the question of whether R4 billion would be sufficient or not. He said that when it comes to policing there will never be enough of a budget. He spoke about the strategic deployment of resources as a government strategy. This budget allocation would form part of the strategic deployment of resources exercised. SAPS had also come up with an integrated resource strategy but given the challenge of COVID-19 they would not have enough of a budget. The country was also facing fiscal constraints. The R4 billion will help SAPS respond to the current challenges facing the country. He then responded to the question on the murder of police officers. SAPS has reactivated and capacitated the police safety strategy. This police safety strategy provides a two-pronged response. Firstly, it responds to the safety of police which attains to murders and attacks to police stations. It then considers the intensifications of investigations. Secondly, SAPS has invested quite a lot of resources into the police safety strategy in order to respond to COVID-19 and to ensure that infections were prevented. SAPS has provided a response on the infections through the steering committee. The number of infections of police officers were increasing, especially in the Western Cape and Gauteng. The Department had come up with a COVID-19 action plan under the umbrella of the police safety strategy. The Department has also put in place contingency plans across the country. Those contingency plans were there to provide a response in case a police station or unit is infected or must be closed down. The contingency plans come into effect until the decontamination process is done. The same plan applies in the case of replacement of members due to infections. He then moved onto the issue of the capital works projects. At the moment the capital works projects are not suspended but the Department was not able to continue as per usual because there were certain constrictions on the construction industry and certain public works. The Department decided to provide direction on the implementation of the rapid service delivery response strategy. The rapid service delivery response strategy is used to provide ‘quick win’ type of police stations so that SAPS was able to respond to the growing structural development and make sure that no communities sit without any policing. He then responded to the concerns about the future of COVID-19 response strategies. SAPS resorted to the introduction of the safer city programme. Through the safer city they were using technology to enhance visibility. The enforcement of COVID-19 regulations requires quite a high visibility. As SAPS increased its visibility more officers became infected so now they were resorting to technology so that larger areas could be covered for policing and less officers would be in the streets. This would ensure that infections were under control. The safer cities process was being implemented throughout the country. He then answered the questions about the increase of the capacity of the FCS. He had issued work study investigations to be done on the FCS. There were seven units that were going to be fully capacitated. SAPS had started the process of capacitating the FCS. This would increase the unit’s ability to respond to gender based violence as was directed from the office of the President. The targets had been impacted due to COVID-19 but the contingency plan was assisting SAPS make provision for those cases.

Maj Gen Leon Rabie, Component Head: Strategic Management, SAPS, responded to the questions raised on the adjustment of targets. He responded to the question about the adjustments done to the targets of crimes against women and children. During the process of reviewing the targets the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation advised SAPS to look at their actual performance and adjust their actual performance in their APP in line with the year end result. When SAPS tabled the previous APP it was in line with a nine month projection. After it had received the actual results, for instance the crimes against women, the initial increase was projected at 1.5% but the actual was adjusted to a 4.8% decrease. Keeping in mind the directive of the President, SAPS did the adjustment so although the percentage reduction went down to 6.9% the numerical value associated with the new target is better than it was in the past. The numerical value associated with the initial target for crimes against women was to reduce it to 168710 has now been adjusted and improved to 159210. SAPS has increased the target by reducing a further 9000 cases. The same principle applied to the crimes against children. The adjustment was done on the year end results so even though the percentage was adjusted to 6.7% the numerical value associated with the new target increased from 42133 incidents. The new target is 39497 that was almost 3000 cases less than they initially targeted. The point he wanted to make was that these were actually positive adjustments of the targets associated with the plan.          

Gen Sitole provided a further response on the targets. He indicated that given the strong sentiments of the members on gender based violence SAPS was flexible in taking a relook at the targets.

Lt Gen Bonang Mgwenya, Deputy National Commissioner: Human Resource Management, SAPS, responded to the question of capacitating the FCS units. There were currently 2014 members attached to the different units of the FCS. 326 members had finished their basic training in December 2019. The 326 members were going to be added to the FCS units. These members were currently busy with workplace exposure and immediately after that they will do the resolving of crime course and will be added to the FCS. The capacitation of the FCS remained a priority. She then responded to the question on the recruitment to SAPS. They did not have any additions as was expected and that was due to COVID-19. They were in advanced stages of advertising and assessments. They had received over 5000 applications. They had three categories when they advertised. They were targeting public service employees, reservists and those who had recently finished matric or university qualifications. They decided to continue the applications for the reservists. They targeted 3000 reservists and were currently doing audits in the respective provinces. By 1 October they would be done with the enlistment of 3000 reservists. They would be advertising 500 posts, targeting those who had worked for the police before. They would be given an opportunity for re-enlistment. She indicated that while they were being re-enlisted they would be subject to a vetting process. The posts were for constables, sergeants and warrant officers. They would also be employing 300 cleaners by 1 September. They would also be employing 260 forensic analysts by 1 November. They were at advanced stages of training level and working on guidelines to approve a less number than the 7000 that was initially targeted. They would apply to train less people so that they comply with the COVID-19 regulations.

Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane, Chief Financial Officer, SAPS, responded to the question on whether SAPS would be able to procure vehicles for this year. Yes, they would be able to procure vehicles. They should not have any challenges with procuring vehicles. She then responded to the question on why there was no increase in allocation to crime intelligence. She said that on slide 9 they indicated that the baseline reprioritisation towards COVID-19 expenditures as well as internal allocation has been earmarked by National Treasury. These funds may not be utilised for purposes other than COVID-19 expenditure. They had submitted an amount of R4.8 billion to National Treasury. They were then requested to reprioritise. They reprioritised from programmes 1, 3 and 5 to programme 2 to assist in the procurement of PPEs. However, they took a decision to not reprioritise from crime intelligence as crime intelligence was very important at this point in time. There was no reprioritisation from crime intelligence. With regards to other programmes there was money that was reprioritised from them to be utilised for COVID-19. COVID-19 expenditure is related to activities within visible policing. This included road blocks, patrols as well as all the targets that are under visible policing. The crime intelligence allocation was left as it is, so that the base line allocation remains as is, so that they were in a position to carry out their duties as expected. The increase in goods and services was in relation to the procurement of all the PPEs as well as the other surrounding goods and services.

Lt Gen Japie Riet, Divisional Commissioner: Supply Chain Management, SAPS, responded to the questions related to procurement. SAPS was not aware of the impact the virus was going to have on the country. The President announced a state of disaster and SAPS had to procure PPEs accordingly. SAPS had protocols designed in line with the World Health Organisation as well as the Department of Health’s regulations. They took the decision to procure PPEs and sanitisers over the period of six months. They also calculated the number of personnel within SAPS. They also visited public work spaces. They also required that prisoners that were arrested be given PPEs, in this case sanitisers. In terms of their protocols they have made it clear that all the surfaces in the workplace needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. The vehicles used by police officers were also being sanitised on a regular basis. Hand sanitisers were used regularly by officers and therefore they could not be in short supply. The buildings and cells were also being cleaned on a daily basis. He then responded to the concerns about the closures of police stations because of contamination. SAPS was decontaminating its buildings on a regular basis should there be any suspension of a COVID related matter. This meant that the total volume of sanitisers that was needed to be procured was high.

Lt Gen Moeketsi Sempe, Divisional Commissioner: Visible Policing, SAPS, responded to the concerns over rural safety and the increase in farm attacks. They had looked at the data from the end of the last financial year. In terms of murders there was one increase. Last year between January and March there were six murders and between April and June there were seven. There was a significant reduction in farm attacks. Between January and March 2020 there were 80 incidents. Between April and June 2020 there were 48 incidents. SAPS was implanting the rural safety strategy and working together with organised agriculture to make sure that this particular scourge. 

Lt Gen Sindile Mfazi, Deputy National Commissioner: Crime Detection, SAPS, responded to the question on the organised crime unit in Durban. SAPS organised crime currently has 18 members tasked to that unit then an additional 38 that have been seconded to the unit. They have 32 vehicles and according to the ratio the police use those vehicles are sufficient for them. They did note the concern raised by the members. He then responded to the questions relating to the projects run by crime intelligence. The re-adjustments made to the budget did not mean that the priorities are going to be changed. The only difference with regard to the running of the projects is the timeline and timeframes. Those timelines of those projects may be extended because resources have been diverted for other uses. The projects will still be completed because they are a priority. He assured the members that the projects that have been designed to address certain crimes will be completed. The introduction of e-vetting was assisting SAPS. They wanted to prioritise crime intelligence and one of the ways they would do this would be through e-vetting. The Minister had also made a statement that stations should be capacitated with regards to FCS units. This programme would enhance the fight against gender based violence.

Gen Sitole said that SAPS had also prioritised the capacitation of organised crime. They were aware of the modus operandi shift that has taken place during the pandemic. There were a lot of underground crimes taking place and for that reason they were increasing the capacity of organised crime units.

Minister Cele assured the members that SAPS did take the issue of farm safety seriously. It would continue to improve its working relationship and the safety of farmers. SAPS had been working with one of the big farming communities in Mabel Hall. It had been working closely in that community and had received notable positive results. Once they worked together all forms of farm attacks would be stopped. The issue of gender based violence was ‘gruesome and very bad’ but it was an issue that was being handled with care. The number of police members that are infected were beginning to effect service delivery. SAPS had 6391 infected officers and only 1600 people had recovered so far. There was a strategy to get reservists to help so that there was no severe impact on service delivery. SAPS expected to face further problems. In his address to the police this morning he had encouraged the officers. There was a theory of the ‘post COVID-19’. He told the police not to think ahead to that too soon. The post COVID-19 future might be very far from now. The provinces that have high crime rates, like Gauteng and the Western Cape, are the same provinces that have high rates of police officers being infected with COVID-19. The Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal were all quite bad. They have lost 36 members and unfortunately those members die alone as the Department was not able to give them the last honour. The members who died were buried by their families. He agreed with Gen Sitole that the targets for gender based violence needs to be looked at. The increase in gender based violence that occurred from 1 June that went with the unbanning of alcohol has become very violent. Many young women have been killed because of it. He saluted the police that almost everyone was been arrested starting from 1 June up until the present. He responded to the question on SAPS relationship with the State Information Technology Agency SITA. They had several meetings between the Ministry of Police and the Ministry of Communication trying to ease that difficult relationship. They were currently working on bettering that relationship if it did not improve the Department of Police would have to look at other ways of working and using technology going forward. It was a bad relationship but the relationship was improving. SAPS had no option but to improve the FCS given the call by the President. He highlighted the increase in recruits and the training of recruits as well as the increase in the units’ structure. The police wanted people to be at the front desks of stations who were trained and understood these matters because it was a serious issue. He then responded to the question on land invasion. It was an issue that needed to be dealt with by the municipalities and supported by SAPS. The municipalities were working on this issue and they did call on SAPS for support. Overall things had changed in National Treasury and that meant that things would change within SAPS as well. Delays in infrastructure of SAPS have been quite severe. They needed to maximise their efforts to expand their infrastructure projects so that service delivery continues. They were all operating within these constrictions and regulations due to the pandemic. They would be working hard to make sure service delivery was not compromised.

Mr Maphatsoe thanked the Minister and his team for responding to the questions and concerns of the Committee members. The unanswered questions will be responded to in writing because of the time constraints. He thanked the Minister for the encouragement he gave the police officers in the morning. Having over 6000 police officers infected really reduces the police’s ability to work. He was encouraged that the Minister said that they had arrested those perpetrators who had abused and murdered women and children. The police had done well so far. They must ensure that they tighten their investigations on those cases so that those perpetrators do not get bail. Gender based violence was a priority of the President because it was a second pandemic affecting the nation. Society as a whole needed to work together to make sure that the issue of gender based violence was dealt with. He highlighted the shocking incident of a child who was in hospital for COVID-19 and had been abused. The issue of gender based violence was not political and needed to be addressed once and for all.

Briefing by the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service on 2020/21 Revised Budget and Plans

Minister Cele said that the Secretariat was the one other mechanism of oversight that is put over the police. The entity also worked with the police in order to enhance service delivery.

Mr Alvin Rapea, Secretary, CSPS, introduced the team that accompanied him.

The presentation was led by Mr Tumelo Nkojoana, Chief Financial Officer, and Ms Itumeleng Moagi, Director: Strategic Management.

The presentation focused generally on the finances of the CSPS and the adjusted indicators and targets. The presentation contained the purpose for revising of the plans, guidelines for revision, impact of the revised budget on core programmes, impact of the revised budget on overall departmental allocation, implications of COVID-19 on CSPS mandate and the impact of the revised budget on service delivery.

The CSPS had its budget of R156 million cut by R12 million. This was comprised of cuts of R1.3 million from Compensation of Employees, R10.3 million from the Goods and Services budget and R350 000 from the Machinery and Equipment sub-programme. This resulted in the cutting of some of the programmes of the CSPS. The outcomes are aligned to the social justice strategy, with no significant changes. The Departmental baseline outline were not available at the time of the consideration of the Adjustment Budget and they reflect the performance of the Department. The Department has identified 10 out of 29 output indicators that are affected. 

The real impact of the budget cuts to the Department will see that fieldwork to conduct Community Police Forum (CPF) monitoring and assessment reports, be suspended. The quarterly targets of the Department will also be shifted from the 3rd to the 4th quarters. The sub-programme of izimbizos will be reduced from the stipulated target of eight to four and the Department has to resort to using virtual platforms.

There are a number of legislative research policy briefs on policing and safety that will be affected by the budget cuts. This include a brief on a five-year trend analysis on car-jacking and trio crimes that will be affected.

See Presentation

Discussion

Ms Mofokeng commented on slide 13. The slide spoke about community police relations. Looking at the output which was the assessment reports on the implementation of CPF regulations and standards; the output indicator was the number of assessment reports. How did CSPS think it would have good relations given the targets it was looking to achieve? They needed to ‘build bridges’ because it was a fact that given the absence of the community policing forum and patrollers women and children were being left vulnerable. The community policing forum and patrollers do a good job. She then commented on slide 12 which spoke about the capable, ethical and developmental state and social cohesion and safe communities. She wanted clarity on the reduced number of civil claims against the police. She also wanted clarity on the last indicator which was ‘reduced number of SAPS misconduct cases recommended for disciplinary action by IPID’. She did not see any slide that discussed the monitoring of police in order to achieve the recommendations. It is to be expected that IPID would monitor the police to make sure that they are disciplined.

Mr Shembeni wanted clarity on the matter of compensation of employees. He saw that the budget had been reduced. Why was it reduced? How would this impact on the performance of this Department? Was the Secretariat monitoring how the senior management of the SAPS is being appointed? Did they check if those people were vetted? According to regulations those senior management officers must be vetted. Does the Secretariat make sure that these people are vetted? Do these people have cases against them before being appointed to senior positions?

Mr Terblanche wanted an explanation of how the R12 million that was suspended will impact on the performance of the Department during the 2020/2021 financial year? He then commented on slide 12. One of the biggest issues during lockdown and the COVID-19 pandemic were the complaints that IPID receive about police brutality, assaults and even death during police operations. He was concerned for the Secretariat and recommended that they focus on those issues. He did not see any indication that they would be able to deal with this effectively. He wanted further clarity on the matter.

Mr Shaik Emam asked the Department to give a breakdown on the procurement of PPEs. He saw shocking information of how one company charges R450 and another company was charging R2000 for a 5 litre of sanitiser. CSPS needed to give a complete breakdown of its procurement of PPEs. He was concerned about the underspending within the Department. It had spent about 18% of its budget within the first quarter. If there was underspending then that surely would impact on its performance. He wanted the Department to respond on that issue. He thought that the Secretariat was having limited success on the ground. It was supposed to do oversight over SAPS but the community policing forums were having limited success. Was there any mechanism that could be put in place to get greater cooperation between communities and the CSPS? He highlighted the concern over police officers who were being killed and that the CSPS was not doing enough to help resolve those cases. He then commented on the CSPS plan to have virtual meetings. Why has it not planned that and put it into place already? It was the only way to go forward because COVID-19 was going to be here for a long time to come. He then wanted more information on how CSPS would be working with communities to address gender based violence.

Mr Rapea said that the Secretariat was very much independent from SAPS and did not report to the National Commissioner. It reported directly to the Minister. The entity’s budget was now not under the police budget.

Mr Nkojoana responded to question on why the compensation of employees was cut. The money that was sent to Treasury for compensation of employees was the savings that the entity has made since the beginning of the financial year. Over the space of three months the entity saved R1.2 million. Going forward it would have no impact on how the entity works. The funds will be back in the following financial year. He then responded to what the R12 million that the Department cut was comprised of. The bulk of that money comes from travelling as the Department was no longer spending money on travelling. Some of the money also comes from the fact that CSPS were not engaging in any community projects. Some of the money came from the catering that would be used for those events. Some of the money came from the hiring of venues and facilities. There were also issues related to marketing and promotion for those events. Then there were also consultants used in the Department that were not hired. The entity also saved money with printing and stationery. All those things contributed to the R12 million saving. He then responded to the question of the procurement of PPEs. The entity had an amount of about R210 000 put aside for PPEs. Up to date it has only issued orders to the value of about R130 000. It had a service provider from Centurion called Lechoba Medical Technologies. They provided the entity with sanitisers and surgical masks. They spent about R61 000 with that supplier. They had another service provider from Atteridgeville called Breakthrough Co-operative where they bought face clothes and masks for the value of R11 000. There was another service provider from Pretoria central called Biz Rocket and Trading. They also bought face clothes and masks from that supplier and spent about R10 000. The entity also bought surface disinfectants and fibre cloth from a textile and clothing company. They spent about R48 000 on that company. There was a service provider from Rooderpoort that will decontaminate buildings that have reported cases of COVID-19. For each exercise that they do they charge R10 000.

Ms Dipsy Wechoeman, Chief Director: Corporate Services, CSPS, responded to the query about recruitment and retaining of personnel. The reduction of costs on personnel is exacerbated by the fact that some of the appointment personnel would leave the Department. CSPS currently had 142 people out of a staff establishment of 154. For example, in this quarter three people were appointed but three people also left the entity. CSPS has developed a recruitment strategy that will enable it to fill posts with a quicker turnaround time and not have to return the money on compensation to Treasury.

Mr Rapea responded to the questions relating to the CPFs. The entity acknowledged during the lockdown, especially level five and four, that it did not use the CPFs during that period. One of the challenges that was raised, especially from SAPS, was that volunteers were being brought in to fight the pandemic and there were risks that were involved. If they were involved during level five and four who was going to compensate for them when any issue arises because they were not insured? They did not want to get into any risks. The Secretariat was receiving assistance under lockdown level three. Communities were being charged with the responsibility to fight the pandemic together with government. CSPS needed CPFs to help assist it in this regard. It has to embark on improving the relationship with the community police forums. The Secretariat was engaging with CPFs and now that it was level three lockdown it was starting to build that relationship. The next issue he wanted to deal with was on slide 12. It was said that the Secretariat was not monitoring the conduct of police. The Secretariat in its APP and strategic plan was told that it needed to deal with issues of impact. It needed to show that its work dealt with issues of professionalization of the police. That was why the reduction of claims made against the police needed to be reduced by 50% over the next five years. The complaints made against the police also needed to be reduced. The complaints made about investigations were the most prominent. If those issues were addressed it will indicate that the Secretariat was making an impact. The number of misconduct cases reported to IPID also needed to be decreased. If this was reduced then it will be an indicator that the CSPS’ work was making a difference in terms of improving performance. CSPS would work with SAPS to deal with these issues. The APP that was presented has all the necessary details. It outlines the work that the CSPS was doing and the indicators that it was trying to achieve. He then responded to the issue of PPE procurement. The procurement system in government was not effective because Department’s are forced to procure from service providers. The supply chain management officers are even reluctant to say that they were negotiating the price down because they are afraid of being accused of influencing service providers. Most of the service providers milk government and put their prices very high for government because they know that government will not negotiate even though policy states that negotiation is allowed.

On performance, he said that since the beginning of the pandemic, CSPS has not done any community engagements. The performance has gone down and that is why the entity was revising. The budget cuts on the compensation of employees was as a result of what was saved to date based on the vacancies. Treasury looked at the vacant positions and cut the budget in relation to those vacancies.

On the appointment of senior managers in SAPS, the Secretariat had not done a specific assessment on that. The work it has done recently is on the management of the disciple within SAPS. The Secretariat has not vetted the recruitment of senior managers. There was a study it did which looked into how the allocation of resources is done. If the vetting of senior managers was an issue that needed attention, then it would look into it in the next financial year.

Mr Maphatsoe noted that the adjustments budget was as a result of the ‘invisible enemy’ that could not be controlled. A state of disaster was like a state of war. He thanked the CSPS for its presentation and answers to the questions. All unanswered questions will be responded to in writing.

Briefing by Independent Police Investigate Directorate on 2020/21 Special Budget Adjustment

Mr Patrick Setshedi, Acting Executive Director, introduced the delegation that accompanied him to the meeting.

Mr Victor Tshepo, Chief Financial Officer, gave the presentation on the 2020/21 Special Budget Adjustment and highlighted the key areas presentation. The presentation included the impact of COVID-19 on the operations of the Department, the IPID 2020/21 Special Adjustment Impact and the Impact of COVID-19 on performance information and targets. Their current budget allocation does not make provision for any expansion of services but only to maintain their current operations. IPID continues to experience budget pressures caused mainly by increase in case intake and therefore any cuts to the baseline will have a catastrophic effect on the ability of the IPID to comply with its Constitutional and legislative mandates. The current national lockdown has placed additional pressure on the department due to additional cases being reported. Any savings that are being realized as a result of implementation of national lockdown are being redirected towards investigation of cases and measures aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on its officials.

IPID received a Main Appropriation of R355.7 million in 2020/21, which was a nominal increase of 5.6% compared to the previous financial year. National Treasury did not reduce the budget allocation due to an already constrained budget.

In this Special Adjustment Budget, the Main Appropriation remained unchanged. Virements of R4.820 million were reallocated from the Goods and services in the Administration, Legal and Investigation Advisory Services, and Compliance Monitoring and Stakeholder Management Programmes to the Investigation and Information Management Programme. The reprioritised funds are for the procurement of personal protective equipment for investigators and other staff, including sanitisation of IPID buildings.

To date, the IPID had spent R1.2 million on personal protective equipment, amongst other measures implemented at IPID offices to ensure the safety and protection of investigators and staff. To date, the IPID has recorded five cases of employees who tested positive for COVID-19.

During the first quarter of the 2020/21 financial year, IPID prioritised the improvement of its ICT operational environment to enable remote operations and virtual meetings.

IPID reported that there was a greater need to safeguard and protect their officials including Investigators against the impact of COVID-19 through implementing appropriate measures including procurement and distribution of PPEs. The entity had spent an amount of R1,2 million on the procurement of PPEs and the number of officials at IPID offices coming to office has been reduced with most employees working remotely. Regular screening of officials and visitors to the IPID offices is being conducted.

The IPID closed and de-sanitized a few of its offices as a result of some members coming into contact with staff who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The Department is left with R 8.9 million to fund operations from its budget and has to spend R1.2 million on procurement of PPE. The Department managed to identify savings of R2.8 million.  

See Presentation

Discussion

Mr Shaik Emam said that he had a concern with all three presentations and the procurement of PPEs. He highlighted a pharmaceutical company that was selling 5 litre sanitisers for R1500 and the same 5 litre sanitiser was sold by another company for R482. There was a huge discrepancy between the prices of the sanitisers. He wanted the Department to provide a complete breakdown of the procurement of PPEs so that it could be interrogated. The Amendment Procurement Bill was currently being worked on to help in situations like these so that items were value for money. He also wanted clarity on how IPID was working and performing investigations remotely.

Ms P Peacock (ANC) sought clarity with regards to the COVID-19 related cases. She wanted clarity on the information on slides 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Ms Mofokeng also wanted additional information on the procurement of PPEs. She wanted more information on the staff that were infected, especially the staff that worked on the frontline. How many staff members were currently working when today it was reported that Gauteng has an office that was closed? The Committee also needed to receive an update on the investigations of the discharge of official police firearms. She also wanted an update on the number of deaths as a result of police action. She wanted more information on the progress of those cases. She then asked a question on the ICT contracts. They spent around R9.2 million. Was it enough? Were they moving towards the fourth industrial revolution? Do they have the skills and personnel to work remotely?

Mr Setshedi said that the Department will provide a breakdown of the procurement of the PPEs to the Committee members. This information is available. He responded to the concerns of working remotely and said that the investigators usually perform their work in the field. During this period, IPID investigators were on standby and they were able to perform their work outside of the offices. They only came to the office when they needed to do administration. The bulk of the work was done outside of the offices.

Mr Setshedi explained that slide 6 shows the total number of cases which also included slide 8 which was COVID-19 related cases. On the Collins Khosa case, IPID has completed its investigation and recommendations were made to the Johannesburg Metro Police and the National Commissioner. It was waiting for actions to be taken by those two entities.

Mr Setshedi said that its funding for ICT was not enough. IPID was always trying to balance the ICT infrastructure but it is done within the budgetary constraints. Modernising the system was still a problem. The entity hoped that in the future ICT receives enough funding so that it is able to put all the relevant systems in place.

Mr Thuso Keefelakae, Head of Investigations, IPID, responded to the question of the discharge of official firearms. IPID has taken note of the spike in those cases, particularly in Gauteng and the Western Cape. During the first quarter it had some challenges at the time when there was a strict lockdown. IPID had to prioritise those cases that dealt with death. Since the lockdown has gone down to level three it has seen investigations into other classifications such as discharge of officials’ firearms and assault have been intensified. During quarter two the performance will improve in those areas. On the discharge of official firearms, there were instances where police discharged their firearms to disperse crowds that were gathering. Those matters were reported by the police to IPID. This meant that it was not necessarily injury or destruction of property that occurred. The police, for statistical purposes, reported these cases to IPID and that naturally led to an increase in the number of incidents relating to complaints of official firearms. Such cases were more prevalent in the Western Cape.

Mr Tshepo said that IPID would provide a list and breakdown of the procurement of PPEs. The list was ready and it would be forwarded to the members.

Ms Sibongile Phalatsi, Chairperson of the COVID-19 Steering Committee, responded to the question of officials and administrators on the frontline being affected by COVID-19. One of the control measures that was put in place was to enhance the usage of PPEs. Currently they had many officers that had been infected. The Steering Committee was discussing enhancing the PPE for investigators. Since they were at the forefront they have procured thermometers for investigators to use in their cars. It was brought to their attention that most of the communities were not adhering to the health protocols so they would be providing disposable masks for complainants. They only had two administrators affected. They disinfected those offices and stated that the administrators can only come to the offices when they have tested negative. They also have sanitisers within each office. They have also procured canisters and were now able to disinfect with the Department by themselves without waiting for a service provider.

Ms Mofokeng appreciated the answer given by IPID but said that all three presenters should know not only which of their officials and administrators were infected; they also needed to know which members of the public the infected officials came into contact with.

Ms Phalatsi gave the Committee her assurance that they do contact tracing and provided an example. All the people the official had come into contact with and the buildings he had visited were contacted and notified. They do contact tracing and keep registers to identify anyone who has been infected so that they can follow the necessary health protocols.

Mr Maphatsoe said that all unanswered questions will be responded to in writing. He appreciated the presentations from SAPS, CSPS and IPID. He said that in the process of procuring the departments needed to support SMMEs. He encouraged all departments to follow the lead of the CSPS and support SMMEs. It was unfortunate that the electricity has disturbed the meeting as the Chairperson was disconnected. He thanked the members for their work under the circumstances. He appreciated the presentations and responses by the three entities. When the Committee raised issues and questions it was not personal but it was for the entities to do better in making sure South Africans feel safe. He noted the reports and they would be adopted the following week.

The meeting was adjourned.

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