Implementation of Affirmative Action Policy & Restructuring: briefing

Meeting report

SAFETY AND SECURITY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
15 September 1998
IMPLEMENTATION OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY & RESTRUCTURING: BRIEFING

Documents handed out
Copy of transfer figures
Human resource rationalization figures

SUMMARY
The focus was on the planning and resources allocation.

DETAILED MINUTES
The first issue was the report back on Friday’s meeting on the Richmond issue. Only the IFP and the ANC members which were available to go to Richmond. The PAC was not available citing other commitments.

There were 8 police commissioners present for the briefing on transformation in the Police Service. Commissioner Steenkamp gave statistics on the composition of police service and affirmative action:
race composition - a decrease in ‘white’ policemen.
gender composition - not a significant change in terms of affirmative action.

The strategies for the achievement of an affirmative action policy were:
preferential affirmative training
fast track promotion
re-engineering the police department i.e. re-organising the human resource department.
provincial commissioners must identify personnel for affirmative action policy.

Problems of implementation were acknowledged:
restructuring not budgeted internally
reliance on foreign funding
lack of commitment from top echelons of police service

Commissioner Eloff explained the stages of restructuring as being voluntary transfers, actual restructuring, placement of officers and human resources rationalisation.

Questions
The ANC asked how would the financial resources meet the affirmative action policy?
Commissioner Steenkamp confirmed a need to operationalize resources. There must be a creation of vacancies within the top structures.

How will SAPS go about achieving the final objectives?
They are still devising a link between facilitation and implementation but the whole process needs to be discussed by the Deputy President, Minister of Police and Commissioner Fivaz as well.

The chairperson, Mr Molekane, acknowledged that the report is a serious indictment on the police as there has been no serious implementation, no visible change or transformation. He said that they need to know the status of the document in respect of opinions of the above three.

The rest of the meeting was not monitored.