SAPS Annual Performance Plan 2024/25; with Minister and Deputy Minister present

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone present and accepted apologies from Members who were running late due to an accident on the N2. She acknowledged the Minister and his deputies, congratulated them on their appointments, and encouraged them to serve the people well.

The Committee’s role was to execute the Legacy Report, refine it where necessary, and introduce some innovation where needed. People were tired of always planning, and as they were the South African government, they were always planning. They needed to be active and responsive.

Regardless of their political homes, Members had committed to bringing the best from their constituency, not their ideas. The Committee had also agreed to conduct its oversight in two-fold processes – the annual performance plan (APP) and the budget. It was also one of the committees that must champion human rights and safety, because people had lost hope and expected the best from this sector. The Committee would therefore ensure that the South African Police Service (SAPS) continued to do what was best as per the Constitution, without compromising the Bill of Rights. As Chairperson, she was charged with steering the ship, but they would work together to achieve the desired outcome.

She said the budget and APP must still be studied thoroughly to ascertain what needed to be done and by whom. The Committee had adopted the “less talk, do more” motto. Members had already studied the presentation and were aware of the state of affairs regarding public safety and policing. She asked the delegation to focus on areas in SAPS that needed the Committee’s support. Members would scrutinise SAPS according to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Constitution -- nothing else. Although they were all here from campaigning, they all had one common interest: to have a safe South Africa.

Minister’s remarks
 
Mr Senzo Mchunu, Minister of Police, said that SAPS was aware of, and alert to, the state of crime in the country, which was causing immense anxiety among South Africans. There was wide concern about crimes like murder and rape. Of late, SAPS had noted that there were gangs in some provinces that continuously put the lives of citizens under threat. They were receiving calls directly from citizens concerned about the situations where they lived. The SAPS intended to respond to the calls urgently. 

SAPS expected communities to rise to the occasion. People were airing their preparedness to rise to the occasion through community engagements. There were also highly organised forums to help fight crime. It was encouraging to have communities waiting to be directed and to take action.

There was consensus that the main priority for the SAPS was to protect citizens. Citizens were on their side to help fight the criminals. Engagements with the Commissioner and other structures showed a readiness and preparedness to fight crime. Some criminals were prepared to defend their criminal activities against the SAPS, so they lost several officers in violent encounters with gangs and criminals. The recent encounter was in the Alfred Nzo Municipality. The police officers would be supported, because they should not be slaughtered by criminals when they were protecting the citizens.

Briefing by SAPS on its 2024/25 APP
 
The SAPS reported receiving an additional R22.278 billion over the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) period for various purposes. This included R21.988 billion for compensation of employees (CoE) over the next three years, and R290 million for the 2024 national and provincial elections. There was also an operational budget reduction of R8.651 billion over the MTEF. Personnel costs drove most of the expenses, with more than 80% of the budget allocated to CoE.

[See the presentation for details]

Discussion

Mr E Noe (ANC, Free State) said Members were looking forward to engaging with the Department actively. He hoped that all the crime-related challenges would be addressed collaboratively from now on. In his rural village, there used to be a satellite police station that had since disappeared. He had not heard the SAPS mention it as one of its focus areas. These satellite stations had been closed and left in a dilapidated state, but they used to greatly assist the local community. The Community Policing Forum (CPF) programme was dysfunctional. Meetings felt like box-ticking exercises. There was no feedback, and it needed to be taken seriously to get communities involved in fighting crime. SAPS needed community participation to fight crime effectively.

Wellness programs for employees were not mentioned in the presentation. He was concerned, because the Department had to ensure its police officers were well looked after.

He expressed frustration at how the SAPS charge offices provide their services to the public. He suggested that urgent crime-related services should be separated from non-urgent services like certification. People waiting for certification should not have to wait in the same line as those reporting crimes. It was not fair that people who had experienced serious incidents like rape or robbery had to wait alongside those getting certification. Often, police officers could be seen walking around the station when only two assisted the public, causing long wait times of over two hours. While some of those officers may not have been working in that unit at the time, it still gave a bad impression to the public.

He asked about the relationship between border control and the security functions of SAPS and the Border Management Agency, and whether their coordination yielded positive outcomes for managing borders. He also inquired about efforts to control the borders and the extent of illegal foreign nationals committing crimes in South Africa.

He was not pleased with the state of holding cells in police stations, and wanted to know if funds had been set aside for renovations. He also asked the SAPS to clarify the increase in almost all the programmes, despite previous budget cuts in certain areas.

Mr P Phala (ANC, Limpopo) expressed concern about ongoing crime in communities, despite calls for peace. He questioned whether the professionalism and capability of the SAPS delegation were reflected on the ground, and raised concerns about criminals destroying the infrastructure. He also inquired about SAPS's plans to reduce backlogs and ensure the recruitment and development of capable and professional officers.

As mentioned previously, Mr M Billy (DA, KwaZulu-Natal) expressed similar sentiments regarding the CPF programmes in communities. These forums were crucial for addressing crime in various communities, and there needed to be a way to hold people accountable for their effectiveness. He suggested that the Committee receive regular updates on the performance of CPFs.

Regarding improving frontline services, the 10111 line served as a good example. There was a general perception that its functionality was not optimal, and Members had a responsibility to closely oversee the root causes of its dysfunction.

The SAPS wage bill was substantial due to the need to have police officers on the ground, but it was important to be critical of the quality and professionalism of the recruits. There was a need to ensure that quality over quantity was prioritised.

The construction mafia was crippling the economy, requiring regular updates from the SAPS. Minister Macpherson strongly opposed this issue. It was crucial for the SAPS and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) to strategise to combat the mafia. The country had lost about R68 billion due to criminal interruptions in projects. The Committee should also receive regular reports on public sector corruption in order to hold those who abuse public funds accountable.

Mr N Gotsell (DA, Western Cape) asked about the criteria for provincial budget allocations, noting that the Eastern Cape received more funding than the Western Cape, despite having a population that was 500 000 people fewer. He further questioned the significant nominal increase of 7.5% in the VIP protection programme's budget, which now accounted for 53.1% of the sub-programmes' total budget. Given the shortages and limited funding in other areas, he expressed concerns about the allocation, particularly static protection and crime intelligence.

He highlighted his personal experience of being obstructed by vehicles and motorbikes while travelling from the Cape Town city centre to the Atlantic seaboard. He emphasised that such behaviour seemed unnecessary in an area where there were no threats on the roads.

It was important to recognise that people were extremely dissatisfied with the (SAPS in situations that could be easily resolved if public suggestions were taken into account. He wanted more information about how the police service planned to professionalise its operations. He emphasised that he respected the gravity and importance of the work that police officers did, but his personal experience with several police stations had not been positive.

He asked for details on why the SAPS-owned firearms confirmed as lost targets had not been reduced to zero, when illegal firearms were involved in most crimes. The percentage of cases not yet finalised was concerning, and SAPS needed to expedite a reduction of its backlogs because cases were not being finalised and concluded. They were often postponed or held up. Perhaps this required an in-depth discussion with the SAPS to zoom into the issues creating the backlogs, and how they could be addressed.

Regarding the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), he wanted to know about the complaints and charges against all the officials involved in the Charl Kinnear murder case.

Mr O Mokae (DA, Northern Cape) said in the previous financial year, he had served as a Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) in the safety portfolio. The Minister indicated that the available funding of R70 million for the CPF programme was broken down for the different provinces, and the Northern Cape received only R4 million from that. These funds were spent on tools of trade. This had come across as a once-off payment. Locals in the Northern Cape had formed an effective “mob justice” group and refused to work with the CPF. It worked very well, but the locals had no power to enforce the law. It was a grave challenge when statutory bodies were not capable of addressing matters, as communities took matters into their own hands. The Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) had mentioned that they were working on a model to take over the function of the CPF and locate it in the ministerial office of the MEC, but this was subject to legislation being amended. He wanted to know how far this process was.

The BMA commissioners had earlier mentioned how criminals would outsmart law enforcement agencies by using drones to detect where the BMA deployed its officers. He wanted to know if there was a concerted effort to invest in technical equipment like cameras, drones, and information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure to assist the SAPS in fighting crime and not being outsmarted by criminals.

During his time in the provincial legislature, he had noticed that police vehicles were not properly maintained or serviced, and were left standing on bricks. This was a widespread issue in the province. He had discovered that the SAPS had a contract with a service provider in Gauteng. When a vehicle needed a battery replacement, the head of the supply chain had to request it from the service provider in Gauteng, even though the station manager could easily have had the vehicles serviced by a local service provider. This directly affected the operational team, but they were unable to do anything about it. He wanted to find out if the SAPS was addressing this issue.

He inquired whether any assessments had been conducted to evaluate the impact of the outreach campaigns. He expressed frustration with the fact that detectives were still using manual filing systems, which hindered their ability to perform their duties due to the accumulation of files in their offices.

He also addressed the DNA backlog, and the need for different treatment of victims of certain crimes at police stations. He said some stations separated victims of rape, gender-based violence (GBV), and other serious crimes from being reported at the front desk to protect their privacy.

Mr J Malinga (MK, KZN) lamented the drug problem in the country and how certain police officers protected the people selling these drugs. Communities had indicated they were often afraid to report these people because the SAPS officers were colluding with and protecting these criminals.

Mr V Gericke (EFF, Western Cape) shared his concerns about the completion of police stations and lower-quality buildings constructed, with newly built police stations full of cracks. In some instances, officers had to work outside because it was unsafe to be in the building. Some buildings remained incomplete, and he requested an update on this. Service providers would build projects until halfway and disappear, and still receive more contracts from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

He asked SAPS to provide a formal report on its reserves or voluntary officers, and whether any funding had been available to set aside for their stipends. These people within communities could be instrumental in helping the SAPS within communities.

He expressed grave concern about the collapse of the CPFs, and how the programme had been infiltrated in the Western Cape and hijacked to execute political agendas on the ground. These people had been elected to serve certain political agendas.

The EFF was greatly concerned about the huge amount of money allocated for VIP protection. The Secret Service Account was a grave point of concern as well. The amount in the report was not reported, but Members needed to know how much money went to the Secret Service. Where did SAPS account for this money if Parliament did not have access to that information?

Members had talked previously about a dedicated task force against gangsterism. There had been lengthy discussions about this, and the previous Minister had told Members that to train a task force member would cost approximately R1 million. The EFF believed that even if it cost the country R100 million or a billion, special task force members had to be trained to fight gangsterism across all communities. The Cape Flats was a warzone. Every day, people were dying, and special intervention across the province and the country was needed, as these gangsters were interlinked. He therefore  proposed that the management of SAPS come back to the Committee and engage in-depth on this.

Although the Operational Shanela, the public transport enforcement unit, cost R1 billion, it was a successful operation nationwide. The Committee should consider assisting in calling for a bigger budget for this operation. As the Committee, they needed to pull their weight to ensure that this operation was bigger and better.

Chief M Nonkonyana (ANC, Eastern Cape) said it was gratifying to note that the policy canvassed under the leadership of the ANC had been maintained, and he encouraged the SAPS to continue in that fashion.

He was impressed by the principle of integration, but he had not seen an interaction between municipal services and the SAPS, nor did he see the need to cooperate with private security. Years ago, the Ministry and the institution of traditional leadership in SA had launched traditional policing, but he had not seen it come to fruition. He suggested that this matter be followed up because it was a mammoth task. For example, in KwaZulu-Natal, there had been killings of councillors as well as traditional leaders. This appeared to be a trend in the country.

Farm killings had also been on the rise. The issue of taxi violence was another crisis, and it was a menace across the country. A specialised force was needed to stabilise this sector. In Port St. Johns, police had to run away from them because of how dangerous they were. It was therefore important to set aside a budget for this to be addressed.

The issue of initiation schools in the Eastern Cape was also concerning. People who should be protecting the boys were not truthful, and the police had to intervene to enforce the law to avoid the deaths of initiates.

He referred to the VIP protection budget, and suggested that it should not be limited only to political leaders, but also to traditional leaders, as some of them were under severe threat, like Queen Modjadji.

He recalled how the SAP had massacred black South Africans during apartheid. Brutality had been the order of the day against black people, and he wished that the white-collar criminals were dealt with as ruthlessly by the transformed SAPS.

The Chairperson said they could all agree that they had a bad past, but they had also won significant battles along the way, which indicated that if they all worked together, they could go far. She was overwhelmed by the contributions of Members who had brought their constituency issues to the table.

Members kept raising the issue of SAPS officers' accountability, and it needed to be dealt with urgently. The GBV and femicide work must be detailed in the next engagement so that Members could understand the work that SAPS was doing to fight it.

All matters raised by Members that were not covered in the presentation should be used as a guide for matters that the Committee wanted to see addressed by the SAPS. Professionalisation and uniformity remained a challenge at the SAPS -- how it was run in Gauteng should be the same in any other province in the country. Perhaps public-private partnerships were critical in assisting the SAPS to fight crime.

Queues in police stations must be separated, and this was something that did not require a budget, but simply prioritising people who visited police stations to report crime in real time. Members acknowledged what had been presented, but more must be done. Some of the challenges could be resolved without any budget.

Having the SAPS receive clean audits was pointless, but with very poor service delivery. Therefore, balance and checks must be done to ensure that both service delivery and audit outcomes speak to each other.

Poorly built SAPS buildings must stop, because Members were the ones who faced the backlash from South Africans about these issues. What comes up from this engagement should steer the direction and nature of engagements in future.

She asked the SAPS to provide a detailed report outlining how it needed to catch up on reducing its DNA backlog, because it fed into the success of other SAPS programmes.

Chief Nonkonyana lamented the killing of SAPS officers and suggested that at a later stage, a detailed report could be submitted for consideration and engagement.

Mr Gotsell agreed with Mr Nonkonyana. 

The Chairperson said that at this point, because of the time constraints, all she was expecting was a commitment from the Department that whatever had emanated from today’s meeting would be done. The Deputy Minister could briefly respond to the matters related to the APP and the budget. Other issues that were not part of the APP and the budget could be responded to in writing.

Deputy Minister's response
 
Ms Polly Boshielo, Deputy Minister of Police, said that the delegation would deal with the matters that Members have raised. She agreed that some of the matters needed to be dealt with thoroughly, and that other matters were within the mandates of other institutions.

She said the Civilian Secretariat for Police Services (CSPS) had been established in terms of section 208 of the Constitution and could not be ignored. Among some of the objectives were the licence and communication stakeholders, implementation of the partnership strategy, and the promotion of cooperation between the CSPS, the police, and the guidance of the community forum. SAPS had integrated its work, guided by the integrated crime and violence strategy, which had six pillars that anchored the programme:

an effective criminal justice system,
early intervention,
victim support,
effective and integrated service delivery for safety,
a safe environment, and
active public and communities.

For most of the issues raised by Members, the law required the SAPS to deliver on crimes like the scourge of GBV and femicide, but they needed communities to assist with statutory rape. In Limpopo, 22 000 learners under 16 had fallen pregnant, 19 000 had given birth, 3 000 were aborted -- and the youngest had been ten years old. As members of the community, when one sees a pregnant 10-year-old, what does one do? These were some of the matters that needed time to ventilate, but they were on the SAPS’ radar and were being attended to.

The interaction, intersectoral coordination, strategic partnership community forum, and technology needed or had been allocated a budget of R165 000 but it was not enough. The SAPS needed the Committee’s support to lobby for more funding for this programme.

She cautioned against going to communities to discuss safety strategies with the communities, because the criminals also attend these meetings. They were so advanced, and they listened to all the SAPS strategies, which defeats the purpose.

As for the intelligence reporting, there was an intelligence committee in Parliament, including the State Security Agency (SSA), and on Friday, she presented on it. It was a closed session simply because the SAPS could not make intelligence information public. Resources were needed for technology and crime intelligence. The former had a budget of only R552 000. Even for cybersecurity, SAPS could train only two in this financial year, and illicit dealings go through undetected. SAPS knows what it wants, but the limited budget and funding were the issue.

When the President had added the second deputy minister to the police portfolio, he showed he had an appreciation for the amount of work that must be done. SAPS would cooperate with the Committee, and she was pleased that was the Committee’s intention as well.

Chairperson's concluding remarks

The Chairperson appreciated the responses and indicated that what had emanated from today’s engagement reflected the state of readiness of all stakeholders to get the work done. The session was one of the oversight processes, but Members were eager to conduct physical oversight visits. The Committee would rely on the SAPS to provide for areas that it wanted Members to explore so that they could advocate for more budget. Members were eager to highlight the realities on the ground in their debates.

Our people spoke of social responsibility and community involvement when it suited them, but when it came to making decisions to change things for the country, they did not do so, there was a need to do the work and own up. People must feel safe, regardless of who and where they are.

She announced that the Committee would be meeting on 23 July to adopt this report. She appealed to Members to be present for the meeting. Further details would be communicated to them.

The meeting was adjourned.