Chairperson and honourable members, receive our revolutionary greetings this afternoon as we engage and deliberate on this fundamental subject that talks to our constitutional mandate as the South African Police Service; to prevent, combat and investigate crime, to maintain public order, to protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property and to uphold and enforce the law.
Honourable members, I am deliberately reflecting on what Section 205 of the Constitution instructs us to do, which must be read together with Section 199 (1) which reads “The security services of the Republic consist of a single defence force, a single police service and any intelligence services established in terms of the Constitution.” Quoting the constitutional obligations in commencing this debate is aimed at minimizing the remnants of amnesia that sometimes cripple those who have initiated such a debate.
Chairperson, we don’t want to dragged back to the painful chapters of our history especially the hidden episodes of the security forces of that time; hence we will continue to throw our full weight in defending this hard-earned democracy and the strategic policy direction led by our capable ruling party.
Today’s debate is nothing but hungry politics of power that seeks to undermine the progressive gains of our glorious movement. The topic itself is disguised in a particular skin colour for the benefit of a particular skin colour. The DA ideology of thinking Africans in the Western Cape are foreigners is nonsensical and must be rejected; even when it is sugar quoted and hidden in big English words that gets thrown in this august house. Honourable members, this government is deeply entrenched in the ideologies of the forefathers of this democracy.
When former President Nelson Mandela said, I quote “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die” unquote
Honourable members, the equal opportunities President Mandela spoke about includes equal opportunities to serve and protect the citizens of this country. Therefore, the topic of the devolution of the SAPS must be weakened and paralysed. As a matter of fact, this government is forging ahead in fully implementing the ideals of the ‘Single police service’ as directed by the constitution. The rogue conduct by certain Metros of creating parallel structures of law enforcement aimed at undermining the constitution cannot be left unchallenged.
Chairperson, the Western Cape government continues to sabotage the efforts of adequately resourcing legitimate structures like the Metro Police, who serve as a force multiplier in the fight against crime. Instead those resources are pumped to fund parallel structures which adds no value in policing.
These parallel structures of law enforcement have ‘EYES’; their deployment is very skewed, it is not informed and directed by crime trends. Instead the law enforcement is deployed to affluent areas with less crime, to the detriment of townships that are known to be the biggest contributors of crime in the Western Cape.
To this end, the ANC government is progressing with speed in introducing legislation that will add value to democratic policing. The SAPS amendment Bill and IPID amendment Bill are at an advance stage in this regard.