Commissioners rally behind Phiyega
THE country’s nine provincial police commissioners have declared their full support for national commissioner, General Riah Phiyega.
In a statement yesterday, the Board of Commissioners of the South African Police Service (SAPS) said they were concerned at what they called the “prevailing unfair and largely negative attitude” towards her.
They also denied that morale was low in the force at present.
“Media reports claiming low morale‚ breaking of ranks and an overall messy state of affairs within the SAPS are unfounded.
“As the SAPS top management‚ working closely with General Phiyega‚ we are surprised by these reports‚ as at no stage has our morale been low.
“As the nine provincial commissioners we are committed to executing our work together with our members and we shall continue doing so unabated‚” the board asserted in a statement.
“It should also be mentioned that none of the SAPS management structures has taken a resolution not to support the submission made at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry‚” it added.
The board added that the statement was also fully supported by the deputy national commissioner for corporate services, LieutenantNobubele Mbekela; deputy national commissioner for policing, LieutenantGeneral Kehla Sitole; and acting divisional commissioner Zulu.
An inquiry into the massacre of 34 miners during a strike at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine in 2012 blamed police for their deaths and called for a probe into Phiyega’s fitness to hold office.
She was instructed by President Jacob Zuma to respond to the issue by no later than midnight on Friday‚ which she did with barely an hour to spare.
The Presidency said her response would be studied by the president “to determine whether any intervention is warranted‚ and the nature of such intervention”.
In its statement yesterday. the commissioners’ board said it fully endorsed Phiyega’s efforts in turning around the SAPS.
“We are compelled to take this stance as some unnamed sources are misinforming the media‚ alleging that we are unhappy with the national commissioner‚” it stated.
Referring to some of the criticism being levelled at police‚ the board said it was untrue that the current police management was prioritising task teams over the detectives.
“The fact of the matter is that these crossfunctional teams that we set up have proved very successful.
“It must be placed on record that the detectives at police stations‚ as well as at relevant specialised units‚ continue to execute their duties as usual and remarkable successes have been secured.
Lieutenant-General
Bongiwe
“Statistics in this regard speak for themselves. At the centre of the successes is the closer working relationship between the detectives and crime intelligence‚ which is allegedly ‘dysfunctional’ if one is to believe reports‚” the board said.
It added that when the national commissioner had joined the SAPS‚ the Crime Intelligence Division was in the “Intensive Care Unit”‚ with many issues being exposed in the media.
“The Division is now out of the ICU and results are starting to show.
“Leadership has stabilised following the appointment of 26 skilled and experienced managers to effectively drive the envisaged turnaround strategy in support of the SAPS objectives.
“By the end April next year‚ we would have appointed an additional 900 officers.”
The board said Crime Intelligence continued to play a key role in assisting other units in the SAPS and in fighting corruption from within‚ evidenced by the fact that so many police officers had been arrested for corruption and illegal mining activities.
“The board fully acknowledges that crime is a serious problem in our society and that everything possible is being done to address the situation.
“All the nine provincial commissioners wish to state categorically that they are committed to the fight against crime‚ and continue to motivate their members.”— RDM News Wire