Popcru fires salvo at chief of police
THE POLICE and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has taken a swipe at acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane, accusing him of restructuring the police without consulting them.
In a statement yesterday, the union said Phahlane’s highly praised “back to basics” campaign was being implemented without resources and there was growing dissatisfaction among members as they did not know who to answer to.
Popcru spokesman Richard Mamabolo said Phahlane had not discussed the campaign with the relevant parties, which contravened a collective agreement signed by the Safety and Security Bargaining Council that consultation with various parties must take place prior to restructuring.
Popcru said that in the past five years, the SAPS had been restructured four times, “with top-heavy structures, lots of managers at head office doing absolutely nothing”
The union said the restructuring had not yielded any positive results in dealing with crime, but instead had created a bureaucratic process.
Popcru said station commanders found it difficult to make decisions because cluster commanders overruled them, but there was no separation of powers between the two. It said “dissatisfaction was brewing” among members, who did not know who to listen to.
The union said many clusters were being reduced, with many police not knowing where they are going to work and where these clusters are.
“This is a move to appease his cronies instead of focusing on real police challenges. The SAPS management does not know whether it is coming or going. Compounding this is the fact that Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko is found wanting.”
This is not the first time that Popcru has criticised the acting commissioner. In November, it expressed concern over the suspensions of Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale and Lieutenant-General Christabel Nobulele Mbekela, saying removing them would polarise the police service. Their suspensions were upheld, but they intend to appeal.
Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi had not responded at the time of publication.