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Emergence of leadership programme graduation ceremony
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Safety Liaison and Transport

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EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
 SPEECH BY MEC  FOR SAFETY AND LIAISON
 AT THE EMERGING LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME GRADUATION CEREMONY
 ON 18 AUGUST 2000



Honourable guests:
 National Commissioner, Provincial Commissioner, Area Commissioners
 Representatives from Management
 MPLs
 Community Representatives
 Provincial Heads
 Members of the Secretariat
Media Representatives
 Distinguished guests
 Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, we are congratulating and awarding certificates to graduates at a time when we are strengthening our strategies both in law-
enforcement and social crime prevention programmes.

The skills that you have acquired from this leadership programme should not only enable you to manage and lead our stations but also to 
supplement the department and governments transformation policies with the aim of better service delivery to all the community of the

Eastern Cape. We all are aware that change must take place and however some of us are terrified of change. We fight change and yet change 
is future and also is confirmation that we are moving forward.

Change is not what rattles around in your pocket

The SAPS is through the eyes of the public sometimes seen as lagging behind in transformation. This is sometimes caused by the lack of will 
and commitment of key personnel and components to deliberately retard transformation. There has to be deliberate interventions in key 
components like Human Resources, Management Services, Logistics etc because presently these components do not reflect the demographics of 
the Eastern Cape and yet they are tasked with key transformation issues like promotions, strategic direction and equitable distribution of 
resources.

I want to assure you that the department of Safety and Liaison is committed to assist with the transformation process in SAPS not only 
about requesting representation but physically engage the police in transformation processes through task teams and participation on 
interview panels in SAPS

This graduation ceremony of the ELP is about transformation and all of todays graduates should reflect a qualitative transformation 
themselves. Let us all therefore take the process of transformation seriously because our failures and successes will be judged by our 
commitment and dedication to transform our own self.

The police profession in South Africa is starting to change not only in shape, size and colour but qualitatively because of men and women 
from the service who are utilising and implementing skills acquired from these programmes. It is of no use to possess a certificate without 
knowledge as to how to practically implement the skills. Middle Managers should realise that they are the people who are driving the wheel, 
failure and successes of our service depends on all of you. You are the engine of this car which in future will be led by you at a Top 
management level.

The ELP should also be seen as a commitment by this democratic government to empower previously disadvantaged groups to become major role 
players in our police service.

The ELP should not be seen as the only programme for previously disadvantaged groups but all training programmes in the police service must 
have a bias in favour of disadvantaged groups so as to ensure that we redress the imbalances created by the Apartheid government.

We must develop a strategy that ensures skills obtained by the graduates here today is not just for information but that every effort be 
made by the service to put these persons in positions that ensure maximum utilisation of their skills and knowledge for the benefit of 
improving management and service delivery by the police.

These words also refer to mentors which would also be awarded certificates on their effective developer programme. Let us work together in 
accelerating service delivery to show all the people of south Africa especially the youth that, the South African Police Service is a 
career to pursue.

In other countries of the world, police officers are admired and loved by the youth because of the kind of service they render to their 
communities. We should therefore put our profession on the limelight where everybody could appreciate and love to be a police man or women.

Let us also commend the media for recognising and congratulating us when they see our strides in the fight against crime. In the East Cape 
weekend of 05 August 2000, it was reported that  Eastern Cape still one of the safest places to live in.

All of us including the media should realise that to attract investors to participate in developmental initiatives in the Eastern Cape we 
need to work collectively and effectively to impact positively on the successes of government.

I am therefore happy for the media to have a critical eye on our service as well as reporting on our achievements in our quest to reduce 
and fight crime in the Eastern Cape.

I want to conclude with a verse once said by Ali Matrui, a Kenyan and American based intellectual in a BBC documentary entitled the 
Africans he said  but in the final analysis the shallowness of the imported institutions is due to that culture gap between the new 
structures and ancient values, between alien institutions and ancestral traditions. Africa can never go back completely to its pre-colonial 
starting point but there may be a case for at least a partial retreat, a case for re-establishing landmarks of yesteryear and restarting 
the journey of modernisation under indigenous impetus.

Once more I wish to thank the Kagiso leadership school for training our members to be effective and efficient in their daily work. I also 
want to thank Management of this area for arranging these training programmes for our officers. This reflects a kind of leadership we need 
in this Province for us to succeed.

Congratulations to all graduates.

I thank you

MEC Dennis Neer
 Safety and Liaison

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