SAPS has a knack of appointing wrong people

DOES the SAPS have a secret formula for the appointment of senior officials who lack competence?

Could the formula be reversed to hire officials based on merit and experience?

It is an insult to the public who place their trust in the police to safeguard them.

Internal squabbles and unnecessary court cases are a waste of valuable time and resources, especially when our statistics show either a level-lingor increase in all categories of crime.

The time and energy could be used more productively in terms of hunting down criminals rather than fighting a case that benefits a single person at the expense of the majority.

If we look back a few years, names like Bheki Cele, Jackie Selebi and Riah Phiyega who were appointed national police commissioners all left under a cloud.

More recently Hawks head Berning Ntlemeza has been red carded by the Constitutional Court as not fit to hold office. He is fighting to make a comeback.

Then there is Richard Mdluli who is on suspension, pending a number of charges against him including kidnapping and assault.

While he awaits a trial date, Mdluli remains on suspension on full pay since 2012.

What a slap in the face for the many living below the poverty line.

The latest top cop, Acting Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane, has been alleged by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to have had almost R750 000 cash exchange hands from the boot of his car.

These incidents taint the SAPS as an institution that cannot be trusted.

The noise resonating from communities is that the rot in SAPS must come to an end.

With the no-nonsense Fikile Mbalula as the Minister of Police, there will definitely be sweeping changes.

His message is clear: Criminals must be behind bars and if a policeman’s life is threatened, he needs to shoot to kill.

Desperate times calls for desperate measures. VIJAY SURUJPAL Phoenix