DA supporters march to Cele’s office

HUNDREDS of DA supporters marched to the office of Police Minister Bheki Cele in Tshwane yesterday calling for him to step down from his position.

The party said South Africans had had enough of Cele’s “arrogance and incompetence”, with DA leader John Steenhuisen, who led the march, saying Cele’s “failings” have cost the lives, dignity and security of countless South Africans.

“When viewed together, the litany of failures on his watch as police minister makes for shocking reading, and it is a shameful indictment on President

Ramaphosa that he has not held Cele accountable a long time ago.

“It is telling that despite all his lofty promises to combat crime, to reduce the murder rate and to protect women and children from gender-based violence, President Ramaphosa cannot bring himself to rid South Africa of its most dangerously incompetent Cabinet minister,” said Steenhuisen.

The party has also accused Cele of spending R600 million a year on catering and accommodation while 2.2 million households experience violence and crime.

Police Ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said they had noted the march but were concerned that “the DA’s claims are not based on facts”.

“The money the DA is referring to is money going towards the fight against crime.

“(The) parliamentary reply of the breakdown of budget ... (clearly) demonstrates that the police ministry has the smallest share of the overall budget, which is going towards policing and housing officers deployed to various areas for crime prevention duties and overall SAPS operations.

“So it is not true that the ministry, let alone the minister, spends this much money on catering. This claim by the DA can only be deduced as an attempt to score points,” Themba said.