The political killings task team (PKTT) has cost the SAPS budget R435m from 2018 to September 2025.
The figure was provided by SAPS CFO Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane during her testimony before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.
Tuesday’s hearing took place at the Kgosi Mampuru correctional facility in Pretoria.
Dimpane detailed her responsibility for overseeing budget approvals and financial management for SAPS operations, including specialised units such as the PKTT.
“The members of the team may not necessarily come from KwaZulu-Natal, and you need to accommodate those members,” she said.
“They do work overtime, which is why those items are on an increasing trend. You need to accommodate them as and when they operate anywhere in the country, and you need to make sure there’s food. They work hard. They claim overtime, and it is not anything strange. This is how the work of the police is done.”
The PKTT was established in 2018 to investigate political killings in KwaZulu-Natal but was later extended to cover cases nationally. Suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu issued a letter to disband the task team on December 31 2024, citing budget constraints as one of the reasons.
However, Dimpane said she had never discussed budget matters with the minister.
Dimpane further compared the PKTT’s costs with those of other major operations.
She said Operation Vala Umgodi, which targets illegal mining, has cost more than R1bn over three years. This expenditure did not come from the SAPS budget; the operation was funded through a separate criminal assets recovery account funding mechanism.
The 2021 unrest task team cost R950m from the SAPS budget, a cost she said had to be prioritised to address the critical national situation.
“We deal with situations that sometimes require special intervention. The police are confronted with different challenges, and those require a different plan and strategies.”
Dimpane also informed the committee that she had discussions with national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola regarding the task teams and the resources they require, especially when funding requests came from the PKTT.
“I have had a conversation with the national commissioner to say my understanding is that a task team is established for a specific period, for a specific reason, and then withdrawn. But with the PKTT, we have noticed it is clearly dealing with something permanent.”
She added that she suggested the task team be made permanent to budget for it properly.
“From a budget point of view, it becomes difficult when you receive applications almost every three months for five years, so you’re unable to budget properly.”
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