Suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu has expressed concern over the increasing crime in the country, especially in the Western Cape, saying the department cannot continue funding one unit, the political killings task team (PKTT), to deal with political killings in one province when people are killed every day around the country.
On December 31, Mchunu issued a directive to disband the PKTT in a letter addressed to national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola. According to the head of the SAPS legal division, Maj-Gen Petronella van Rooyen, this decision fell outside his mandate.
Testifying before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system, Mchunu said all resources cannot be focused on “one unit in the corner”.
“If you’re the police minister, you’re meant to preside over R120bn. You have to think about the most effective way of distributing and using resources,” he said.
“If you keep funding one unit somewhere in one corner of the country, even if they do well, they are not going to deal with criminality in the Cape Flats.”
He said the department does not have enough resources to combat crime in the country.
“In our assessment, we said SAPS doesn’t have good capacity on the combative side. You have police uniforms all over, and criminals out there are getting organised, getting armed, and becoming dangerous. You now have to increase the capacity of SAPS to confront them.
“We don’t have the machinery to face those who are carrying guns in the Cape Flats.”
Mchunu said he loses sleep over the amount of crime in the country.
“Once it hits 1am, I lose my sleep because of the increasing crime, murder, drugs and proliferation of firearms.
“It’s unacceptable that a four-year-old dies and we do nothing about it.
“Every time there’s a death in the Cape Flats, and you’re asked what you are doing about the matter, you can’t say, ‘I have the PKTT, which is operating in one corner’, and killings are happening in other corners.”
He said the department cannot continue making excuses for not being able to fix the problem.
“We come to the Western Cape and make excuses every time, saying we are trying. But in reality, when you go to sleep alone as the police minister, your conscience doesn’t give you peace because you’re aware that you’re not doing much on the ground where you’re needed.”
Mchunu highlighted that political killings were less prevalent than other crimes, saying that 35% of murders in South Africa are related to organised crime, 34% to taxi violence, 24% to political killings, and 7% to personal reasons.
“When you allocate resources, where do you allocate those figures? When you say the PKTT task team deals with all the murders in the country, you’re lying, no matter how you look at it. It’s not reality, even if they clap hands for you.”
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.