The government wants to fight crime with the same vigor with which it tackles economic reforms in other struggling state departments, such as electricity and water. The main areas of focus for President Cyril Ramaphosa would be to increase capacity, repair the emergency helpline and the Eskom sabotage.
“Just as we have embarked on economic reforms in electricity, water, telecommunications and logistics through Operation Vulindlela, we are embarked on a reform process to improve the effectiveness of our fight against crime,” Ramphosa said in delivering his seventh statement. of the nation address on Thursday night.
Ramaphosa said that 10,000 new policemen will be recruited and trained this year.
However, Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale told the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in November last year that due to budget constraints, only 15,000 new police officers will be enlisted in three years.
The total budget of the police service for the financial year 2022-2023 is R100,695,000 million, compared to R100,474,000 million in the previous year.
In his speech, Ramaphosa promised “significantly” more funding in the coming financial year for the police, the National Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Investigation Unit.
Ramaphosa acknowledged the complaints raised about the abject failure of the 10111 emergency line. Calls made to the line remain unanswered and this, the president assured, would be resolved through alliances with the private sector.
The president also announced a dedicated team of senior managers to crack down on corruption and theft at Eskom.
Eskom’s outgoing chief executive André de Ruyter told parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) in January that ongoing corruption at the energy company and the failure of law enforcement to deal with it threatens stability. from the electrical network.
In his speech, Ramaphosa said: “[SAPS] established a dedicated team with senior leadership to address widespread corruption and theft at various power plants that have contributed to poor power plant performance.”
De Ruyter told NCOP last week that law enforcement agencies have had multiple successes in cracking down on corruption and theft at the utility.
It confirmed 25 arrests and the closure of three illegal sites where coal from power plants was replaced with low-quality coal, causing further damage to Eskom plants. Police are in the process of targeting another 30 similar illegal charcoal sites.
