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Official opening of Umtata Police Wet
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Safety Liaison and Transport

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EASTERN  CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

SPEECH BY THE MEC FOR PROVINCIAL SAFETY, LIAISON AND TRANSPORT

OFFICIAL OPENING: UMTATA POLICE WET CANTEEN

20 AUGUST  1999

Introduction:

Provincial Commissioner;
 Area Commissioner;
 Management of the SAPS and heads of the various SAPS units;
 Senior Officers;
 Members of the Police Service;
 Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen



I am highly grateful to be one of the guests, to witness the official opening of this police leisure facility, and I could not have excused 
myself from this important occasion, because, as you will agree with me, that it has become a tradition for me to honour every invitation 
that comes from this part of the province, as this is a region that is very close to my heart. It is close to my heart because I have 
travelled it throughout and know it like a palm of my hand.

I have seen the suffering of the rural people of this region, the people of Majola, Mhlotsheni, Kwa - Buje, to mention but a few, who have 
been devastated and displaced by violence. I have also witnessed the inhuman conditions under which some of our police members live and 
work in rural police stations and to me, this was quite enough to touch my heart. This ever beautiful region, with a rich history and 
tourism potential, is still bleeding from the wounds afflicted on it by the Apartheid whips and we are committed to nurture and nurse it to 
its full recovery.

Ladies and gentlemen, this occasion is a major boost for the SAPS members in this area, who for a long time might have been longing for a 
facility of this nature which one could only find in the previously advantaged and well - resourced areas of our province.



Transformation of the SAPS:

Transformation of the SAPS has to be witnessed and felt in all areas, including the recreational aspect. Our members be they be in Port St. 
Johns, Mqanduli, Qoqodala, etc. have to witness the change that we often propagate for, so that they could enjoy the same privileges that 
are enjoyed by other members of the SAPS in Port Elizabeth, East London, Uitenhage, without a sense of discrimination.

Our members in the previously disadvantaged areas, be they from the former Transkei or Ciskei Police Forces, must in deed begin to feel 
that they are members of a new Police Service, and as such must be practically accorded such status, in terms of allocation of resources. 
We as managers of the SAPS must take this statement seriously and stop paying lip service to these areas when it comes to distribution / 
allocation of resources.

Our major focus as government is on redressing the imbalances and inequalities created by the past system of Apartheid, particularly in the 
previously disadvantaged areas, the former homelands, for instance. Our management must realise that this must be their priority.



The balance between resource allocation and performance:

By the same token, members serving in these areas must also display commitment in addressing the needs of their communities as far as 
fighting crime is concerned so that the support that we provide in terms of resource allocation is not wasted but is practically 
justifiable.

Moral and material support will not be provided willy - nilly because of the urgency of pursuing the objectives of transformation and 
redressing past imbalances. Our actions as police members will also determine whether we really warrant any further improved support. The 
notion that I am trying to arrive at is that our performance must be in par with the resources and support that we receive, and perhaps 
even go beyond that so that it warrants more resource allocation.



Morality renewal and partnership against crime and corruption:

Since the advent of democracy in our country in 1994, our government has committed more resources to this part of the province and all 
other previously disadvantaged areas. Today the Transkei boost of more new clinics, schools, clean water for the rural community, new and 
improved police stations and courts, and a number of job creation projects, than any other area in our province.

Yet our communities here still remain the most unemployed, the poorer of the poorest and more hungry because of the socio - economic 
disparities that still exist between this area and the rest of the province. The major threat to our efforts as government in partnership 
with the private sector in addressing these imbalances, is crime and corruption that robs us millions of rands that are meant for our 
people. There is no way alone that we as government and the police can cope with the levels of crime in this area, nor can we seriously 
point fingers and make wild accusations that the Government is not serious about stamping out this scourge.

The fight against crime should under no circumstances be politicised and if we do that like so many of us are prone to do, we can only 
strengthen the hand of the hijackers, rapists, murderers and the corrupt elements. What we require, besides what we have done as Government 
and the safety and security apparatus, is renewal of our morality values, so that we regenerate the will and commitment to fight crime. For 
us to achieve this we need the involvement and participation of every one, the entire people, traditional leaders, civic organisations, the 
rural communities of Tsolo, Qumbu, Bizana, Port St. Johns, the list is endless.

We must begin to forge alliances and partnerships in anti - crime forums, particularly in the rural areas of the Transkei, where most 
violent crimes occur, many of which go unreported / unnoticed. The success of this partnership with the civil society will depend upon our 
will and commitment as the SAPS to be part of this morality renewal campaign, so that we also get rid of the corrupt and rotten apples 
within our midst. We surely know who are genuine and who are not, in our service, hence, this morality renewal drive must begin within the 
SAPS.

The Minister of Safety and Security, Cde. Steve Tshwete has publicly stated that the department has prioritised this drive to root out 
corruption in the SAPS and we shall stick to that. I welcome the public commitment made by Police Unions in supporting us and making a 
pledge to assist government in this regard.

Ladies and gentlemen, whilst the major battles against crime will be fought out in the streets, there will be a number skirmishes that will 
be intensified within, in our bid to ensure that we have a committed, loyal and dedicated Police Service, which is corruption - free and 
willing to take the battle against crime, right at the doorsteps of criminals, without showing any mercy or compromise.

We must begin to fight crime, as clusters and in partnership with other government agencies / departments such as Justice, Correctional 
Services, Home Affairs, the National Intelligence Agency, the Traffic law - enforcement Agencies, the National Defence Force, etc. if we 
want to yield fruitful results against crime that will have long - term effects. Mechanisms have been put in place already at national 
level to facilitate the co - ordination of such crime prevention partnerships.

The recent unexpected "inspection" visit to the Province by the Ministers of Safety and Security and Justice and the National Director for 
Prosecutions, on August 6, bears testimony to this co - ordination and partnership. This is already yielding positive results for our 
province.

Ladies and gentlemen, I must hasten to use this platform to say that the highly publicised week long crime prevention initiatives planned 
and implemented jointly by security agencies, such as the police, the army and traffic law - enforcement agency, in the East London area, 
which began last week are encouraged. This also further emphasises the partnership as alluded to above.

I wish also to congratulate some hard working police men and women in this area who are making Herculian efforts to fight crime despite 
working, sometimes, under extreme conditions. Here I wish to refer to Dir. Louw and his Crime Prevention team, Supt. Magadlela and his 
Murder and Robbery unit and Supt. Hackard and his Public Order Policing unit, which has often been accused by some of our people for 
policing with an iron fist.

Conclusion:

We must discourage misguided militancy under the guise of fighting crime, amongst our people, which has culminated into vigilantism in 
certain areas. This emerging trend that is beginning to mushroom has to be napped in the bud before it spirals out of control, because 
vigilantism is crime in itself. We however encourage our people to engage themselves in fighting crime, through making citizen arrests, 
tracing criminals and handing them over to the police so that they could be brought to justice, within the ambit of the law.

We must prevent the tendency of taking over the role of the police and the courts, by our people, so that our democracy is not thrown into 
anarchy, thereby depicting a society that lives under the law of the jungle. This we have to do by committing ourselves to making the 
Community Policing Forums (CPFs) more effective, efficient and equal to the task facing them in fighting crime, especially in the rural 
areas. The involvement and participation of traditional leaders in leading these forums must be encouraged, hence, we have to guard against 
the hijacking of such forums by criminal elements, as alleged to be happening in some areas.

The new strength that has been injected into community policing by our department, through the DFID Community Policing and Capacity 
Building Programme, has to be commended. The training that has been provided to our communities under the Partners in Policing Project 
hopefully will ensure that our people fully understand their responsibilities in CPFs, so that they take control of these structures and 
fully participate in crime prevention and in promoting community - police relations.

Lastly, I must be say that the road ahead of us as we enter the new Millennium is a challenging one, but I am sure that with the will, 
commitment and intensification of our morality renewal drive, we shall not fail but succeed.

I thank you

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