According to Build One South Africa (Bosa) and Rise Mzansi, the Minister of Police’s Senzo Mchunu’s allocation of more than R2 billion for the security of politicians is hogwash.
The police have been allocated R113 billion for the 2024/2025 financial year, while the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service received a budget of R155 million, and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) was allocated R370 million for the same period.
The two parties’ objection comes after Mchunu delivered his maiden budget vote for the police ministry on Monday, with R113.597bn set aside for the department.
Lamenting that South Africa is beset by crime, especially as the world’s rape capital, Bosa deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster and Rise Mzansi caucus whip Makashule Gana demanded Mchunu to redirect the money to combat crime.
While the public purse is set on security personnel for a bloated Cabinet, a vast number of ordinary citizens bear the brunt of crime-infested communities, said Hlazo-Webster and Gana.
Hlazo-Webster furthermore mentioned the fund allocation will continue to size up with a national executive of 75 members, yet the Hawks also received the same budget dedicated to tackle all kinds of crime.
“This is the same amount of funds allocated to the Hawks to combat violent crime, organised and commercial crime, and corruption. It is more than what is allocated to the Family Violence and Child Protection Unit. The amount allocated to VIP politician protection will continue to grow as the national executive continues to bloat under this GNU. We now have 75 members of the executive – the largest it has ever been. Bosa wishes to unequivocally denounce this ‘celebrity-like treatment’ of politicians,” she said.
Suggesting “some people are more equal than others”, Gana illustrated that there were more security protection service cars guarding politicians at the committee meeting in Parliament on Tuesday than visible police vehicles in police stations nationwide.
Therefore, he demanded the minister cut the budget by 50%.
“The first responsibility of the State is to protect its citizens, and at this moment, this government is failing to protect the people of South Africa. The first opportunity that you have to adjust this budget, please cut the fat from the cost of protecting politicians,” said Gana.
Hlazo-Webster and Gana noted they can only support Mchunu when he decides to divide the R2bn and redirect it to other existing budgets within the ministry.
Both members of Parliament said the funds can expand police enforcement by recruiting and training 120 000 new officers, instead of the 10 000 officers the department said it will train and hire for the 2024/24 financial year.
“During the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 budget periods, additional funding allowed us to enlist 10,000 employees respectively. For the 2024/2025 financial year, this additional funding will enable us to appoint another 10 000 police trainees, covering personnel losses through natural attrition and facilitating workforce growth,” said Mchunu.
Another chunk of the R2bn can be put towards professionalising the police force in order to foster ethical police officers who will work against crime and create safer communities for the vulnerable, said Gana.
They both agreed that the funds can be used to strengthen the IPID and forge stakeholder relationships to establish a National Criminal Investigation Directorate to prosecute the top 100 most dangerous criminals.
Raising a significant point for the department to adapt to digitalisation and speed up admin processes in police stations and fighting crime, Hlazo-Webster said: “We will support you in mandating the digitalisation of all dockets for transparency and accessibility.”
Mchunu stated that R2.845bn had been allocated to modernise and upgrade technology infrastructure for efficient police services and to clamp down on criminal activities.
The Star
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