SAPS 2020/21 Annual Performance Plan; with Ministry

Meeting report

Opening Remarks
Co-Chairperson Joemat-Pettersson welcomed members to the joint meeting. Members will be looking at the strategic plan, annual performance plan and the budget of the South African Police Service (SAPS). It is one of the largest budgets. It will change and members will be given time to engage when these changes happen. The adjustments and the amendment will be made accordingly. There will be no questions today about which adjustments will be made for Covid-19 because members have had sufficient time to ask questions on this. Written responses were provided to members. The joint meeting will deal with the submitted presentation which SAPS has shortened upon the Committee’s request. SAPS has been asked to highlight certain areas in order to save time. The Minister of Finance and the leader of government business will return to members when the adjustment will be made. The Minister of Finance will be leading members in that process. These joint meetings are not the norm and it is hoped that the presentation will be delivered in a manner that assists all of the members. The Appropriation Bill, Division of Revenue Bill and the fiscal framework will be discussed particularly with what happened on 26 February and 18 March 2020. She handed over to the Minister of Police to provide the political overview before the presentation begins.

Remarks by the Minister
Gen Bheki Cele, Minister of Police, greeted members, the Deputy Minister of Police, the National Commissioner of Police and members of the SAPS team. The fourth industrial revolution has been pushed onto government and we need to do things we never thought we would do. Government is trying to normalize what is essentially abnormal. Life has changed and it has impacted the manner of policing. The Department of Police (DoP) is not only looking out for crime but also the welfare of its SAPS members. 253 SAPS members have fallen sick and become victims to this invisible enemy. SAPS is very high on mobility and work is done in the entire country. That may have to change because it may have a negative impact on the health of the SAPS members. Extra effort has been made where vehicles are now cleaned and sanitized. This extra effort was not part of the work before but the SAPS has had to learn fast.

Minister Cele said the lockdown regulations change almost every day. The police together with law enforcement are the last line to deal with the changes. It’s important for the National Commissioner of Police to issue communications almost every day so that national commanders can provide information to the SAPS members. It’s a changed situation that requires a lot of work to be done within a very short time. The previous day, he saluted members of the force generally but in particular those who have done a beautiful job despite the fact that there are some who do wrong things. As an organisation, SAPS responds and defends itself. Most members are arrested by other members of the SAPS and we wish this wasn’t the case. SAPS management have moved to all provinces to make sure members understand the present situation, to give them support and to listen to them to make life better for themselves, the nation and for all South Africans. Things are getting tougher as more members get sick. Scientists have stated that things will get much darker before it becomes bright again. The Ministry hopes that the SAPS members survive this time and are able to be part of the frontline in order to defend the rest of South Africa.

Co-Chairperson Joemat-Pettersson said members are aware and very grateful that the Minister sits in the national Covid-19 Cabinet Committee. When the changes are made to the budget and those changes are finalised, the Minister will have an opportunity to make the changes. The budget cycle will run its course. It’s impossible to have a meeting that provides all the details in the presentation. Documents have been sent to members well in advance and have been read. The parliamentary researchers are thanked for preparing the research documents. A lot of preparation has gone into this joint meeting and members welcome the presentation.

Briefing by the SAPS

Gen Khehla Sitole, National Commissioner, SAPS, explained that the Annual Performance Plan (APP) consists of both parliamentary and Covid-19 priorities. The Annual Operation Plan (AOP) contains new considerations. The police safety strategy is top of the ranking metrics because the lives of members need to be saved in order for policing to continue. There is an emphasis on specific projects such as the Safer Cities project because infections are continuing to increase and SAPS must be saved in order to retain the establishment. The Safer City technology will assist SAPS because almost 50 000 members will be saved. The implementation of the technology will result in the scaling down of members in the cities. The online policing strategy is one of the priorities in the AOP. The SAPS is investing in human capital so that it can sustain policing.

Maj General Leon Rabie, Component Head: Strategic Management, SAPS, said the entity is supposed to develop 3 plans. The National Commissioner referred to 2 of the plans which must still be submitted to Parliament. That includes the strategic plan 2020 to 2025 which reflects the outcomes, impact statements, outcome performance indicators and integrates the strategic direction provided by the Minister. The APP 2020/2021 reflects similar information but focuses on the 1 year period. It reflects the specific identified priorities and the potential areas that will be affected by Covid-19. The AOP 2020/2021 reflects internal documents and details on commitments. On the government’s apex priorities, the SAPS is specifically involved in social cohesion and safe communities. It indirectly supports the other priorities. On the strategic plan, the Department adopted 5 key priority areas to support the impact statement. Of these areas, intelligence-led policing, collaborative and consultative approach to policing and a professional and capable SAPS forms the foundation of the strategic plan. For the first time, the Department has introduced a number of perception-based indicators where it will start using community-based perceptions and internal perceptions to measure the effectiveness of SAPS, feelings of safety, corruption and internal integrity.

Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane, Chief Financial Officer, SAPS, said the reprioritization is currently being performed as a result of the impact of Covid-19. SAPS is currently busy reviewing its budget and will have to scale down on stabilization operations, reduction of revenue and subsistence across all programmes, capital expenditure in programme 1 will be reduced in order to divert funding towards personal protective equipment (PPE) goods and services and the compensation of employees will require a serious prioritization in order to divert funding to goods and services. SAPS received its MTEF allocation letter and there were substantial budget reductions introduced especially in goods and services. On the budget for the 2020/2021 financial year, compensation takes a bulk of this allocation at 79.7%. Included in the compensation budget is the wage bill, allowances, overtime, rental and housing allowance and medical schemes. The wage bill forms the biggest amount out of this. Covid-19 spending currently remains a prominent feature for resource allocation.

Maj Gen Rabie said that SAPS foresees that it will be easier to quantify specific adjustments to targets in some areas and not others because the longer that Covid-19 continues, the higher the impact will be on the operational activities of SAPS. On programme 1, Administration, the expenditure estimates include the ministry, management and corporate services. As part of infrastructure development and improving access to policing there is a target of 2 new police stations and 15 mobile contact points. SAPS might have to review these commitments because of unforeseen Covid-19 related expenditure. On the modernization of SAPS network, the challenges include delays in establishment of contracts, advertisement of tenders, delays in construction of radio towers and delays in the delivery of imported radio equipment. This might impact on the commitment of 45 high sites and will have to be reviewed. There are similar challenges when it comes to the target of national network communication infrastructure sites. All of the police member training had to be suspended during the lockdown. It had to be refocused on Covid-19 awareness. The training will only be able to start again when the country moves into stages 3, 2 and 1 of the lockdown. Corporate governance will not be affected and the framework is currently being reviewed. Forensic investigations will continue.

Maj Gen Rabie said the expenditure estimates in programme 2, Visible Policing, include crime prevention, border security, specialized interventions and facilities. The bulk of the expenditure is allocated to crime prevention. There might be an increase in the number of illegal firearms recovered because of the number of extraordinary law enforcement deployments and lockdown restrictions but this will only be determined once trends are analyzed. The Central Firearms Register (CFR) function was identified as non-critical and SAPS members might have to be deployed at the CFR to perform local level policing. There is a notable decrease in the crime levels during the lockdown period. This is a trend that SAPS needs to take into consideration going forward because factors, such as the restriction of movement, has impacted the levels of crime. Strategies such as the Community-in-Blue Concept and the Safer City Framework are impacted by the lockdown because it limits the ability to engage with stakeholders and effectively implement the strategies. SAPS remains committed to respond to illegal mining operations during the lockdown period.

Co-Chairperson Joemat-Pettersson asked for the presentation to continue until programme 5. Members will be allowed to ask questions afterwards.

Maj Gen Rabie said the expenditure estimates in programme 3, Detective Services, include crime investigations, criminal record centre (CRC), forensic science laboratory (FSL) and specialized investigations. The bulk of the allocation goes to crime investigations. On reduced levels of contact crime, the focus remains on crimes against persons and contact crimes. The lockdown, restricted access to the public and the courts will impact on the ability to maintain or improve the detection rate for contact crimes. Similar challenges exist for the detection rate for crimes against women and children. The Department doesn’t foresee Covid-19 negatively impacting on the commitments in the CRC AND FSL environments. On programme 4, Crime Intelligence, the expenditure estimates include crime intelligence operations, intelligence and information management. The compensation payments within the programme are the largest portion. Crime intelligence activities have been refocused to deal with Covid-19 and will not be negatively affected. On programme 5, Protection and Security Services, the expenditure estimates include VIP protection services, static protection, government security regulator and operational support. The focus remains on preventing security breaches during in-transit protection. The challenge is that strategic installations and national key points are not accessible due to the lockdown. The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) has indicated that SAPS needs to review its strategic plan, APP and resubmit both of them within the timeframe.

Discussion
Co-Chairperson Joemat-Pettersson invited members to give input.

Ms J Mofokeng (ANC) addressed the issue of gender-based violence (GBV). She noted that the reduction in the number of contact crimes against women was 7.6%. She was not convinced about the inroads being made. Can the GBV Steering Committee report to members? The Minister is part of that Committee. The presentation is all about percentages. It’s high time that members get numbers. Can members get reports on the GBV numbers per police station and the recording of GBV in the register during the lockdown? There is a blueprint that is delivered to the President and members are happy about that but members should also be able to look at things holistically.

Mr A Emam (NFP) asked if the presentation was prepared before Covid-19. The presentation is too optimistic given the fact that after Covid-19, the unemployment rate will rise and the crime rate will increase. Are the targets achievable with the limited budget and the added problem of high levels of crime? There was an announcement by government and the President to release an additional 19 000 prisoners. How is SAPS going to be able to deal with that?

Mr O Terblanche (DA) said Mr A Whitfield (DA) had to leave the meeting and requested him to ask the question on his behalf. Mr Whitfield noted that the forensic laboratories don’t have sufficient materials and consumables to do their job. The labs are not performing the way they should be. Is that in fact the case because the presentation doesn’t speak to this issue? During the State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President announced an additional 7000 personnel to strengthen the police. At a later stage the police received about 3000 applications for early retirement and that process has been finalised. There is also going to be no training during the lockdown. What number has the police decreased by? From the presentation, it seems the police will lose almost 5000 people in this year alone. Can clarity be provided on this? He said he is concerned that members aren’t allowed proper time to engage with the police and the presentation. 

Co-Chairperson Joemat-Peterrsson said if members require additional time the Committee will request it. This is a R101 billion budget for all of the programmes and members are not going to rush through it.

Mr P Groenewald (FF+) said the police are going around and closing down firearm shops and businesses selling ammunition. Why? There is a problem with referrals being sent to designated firearms officers (DFO’s). When people want to renew their licenses they are told they have to renew the competency certificates but this is not necessary because it depends on what firearms you have. On the APP, why have very critical performance indicators been removed e.g. the implementation of the Integrated Case Docket Management System (ICDMS), the reaction time to Alpha, Bravo and Charlie complaints and the implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy? Why were they removed? Why was the indicator to reduce property related crime removed when it’s important for house breakings and house robberies?

Ms M Mmola (ANC; Mpumalanga) referred the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI). How far are they with the establishment of the specialized units dealing with cybercrime and narcotics? This was announced by the former President Zuma in the 2017 SONA.

Mr H Shembeni (EFF) asked why the Department removed the performance indicator related to trial ready case dockets.

Mr K Maphatsoe (ANC) said economic sabotage is part of the new emerging forms of crime that operate in a more sophisticated manner. How does the Department plan to deal with illegal mining and the Zama Zamas?

Ms Z Faku (ANC) welcomed the inclusion of perception-based indicators. It will be better to get feedback from people that are outside the system so that SAPS can improve in areas where it’s needed. It is appreciated that the statistics on GBV have dropped. The Minister made an announcement that he would concentrate mostly on police stations that have high numbers of GBV during Covid-19. What measures been put in place to make sure that is happening? On community participation, how is the Department going to integrate communities? How is it going to integrate the Community Police Forum (CPF) in its budget? They are playing a very critical role in our communities.

Ms Mmola asked for members to be provided with the breakdown of the budget allocation for the sub-programmes such as the presidential protection. Why has the indicator to measure the implication of the Rural Safety Strategy been removed from the APP? How does this strategy fit into the Safer City Framework?

Co-Chairperson Shaikh asked the Department to give details on the distribution of the provincial budget. What informs the determination of the amounts each province receives? How are under-resourced police stations in rural areas catered for by this budget? On the spending focus that looks at critical items such as bullet resistance vests, firearms, clothing and mobile police stations, how will these be budgeted for provincially? During Committee oversight visits, there have been problems related to insufficient vehicles at police stations as well as the lack of repairing of vehicles. How will these be addressed in the current budget on a provincial basis? On the 30 high contact crime weight stations, what specific strategies have been put in place on a provincial level to reduce the crime in these hotspots?

Gen Sitole replied that the team from SAPS works with the GBV Steering Committee. SAPS will be able to provide members with a report that includes the breakdowns per police stations. The presentation was prepared prior to Covid-19 but it also looks at the impact of Covid-19 on particular priorities. SAPS is currently working on the review and alignment process. On the 19 000 prisoners that are going to be released, SAPS had proposed for a multidisciplinary monitoring team. It has also established some avenues to monitor the prisoners through intelligence. It has proposed a special community integrative programme which provides for both a community-based approach and a multidisciplinary approach. The forensic labs are currently under a renewal plan and the new Acting Divisional Commissioner has been appointed. There are challenges pertaining to sustained resourcing. Most of the resourcing was done by the Integrated Justice System (IJS) which is being linked to the baseline provision. SAPS is working forward through the renewal plan which includes the extension of forensic services to the districts. The recruitment of SAPS members is on suspension but this issue is also linked to the process of scaling down compensation. This is based on fiscal constraints. It is further linked to Covid-19 and the infection of members. The personnel plan must be fully aligned to modernization and the technology approach. The budget breakdown of presidential protection will be provided to members. SAPS will not give too much information on this because it may result in a national security risk. On the distribution of the budget to provinces, the criteria include variables that affect police stations. Once the criteria are applied, it must result in a distribution of the budget that equips everyone. Provinces, districts and divisions will be working on this distribution. On the CPF’s, their funding is still falling under the unfunded mandate. The SAPS have made provision to address it so that it can end up at a level where there is a dedicated budget for it. SAPS has a budget for community policing but not necessarily for CPF’s.

Lt Gen Bonang Mgwenya, Deputy National Commissioner: Human Resource Management , SAPS, replied that as at 1 March 2020 the actual establishment of the SAPS was at 187 358. The projected prognosis for the 2020/2021 financial year is as follows: 5726 service terminations and 2039 early retirements without penalisation. The anticipated workforce for 30 April 2021 is at 183 693. Gen Sitole has already spoken on how SAPS will replenish this. There was also a national personnel indaba which included a review of the personnel recruitment strategy that makes provision for internal recruitments.

Lt Gen Francina Vuma, Deputy National Commissioner: Asset and Legal Management, SAPS, explained that the implementation of the ICDMS depends on continuous assessment and evalution in order to identify areas that require further improvement and development. For it to be further developed it depends on the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and because SITA has lost a lot of members and expertise it became a challenge to continue to leave it in the APP because the further development is not happening in a manner that was anticipated. However, it’s included in the AOP for continuous improvement.

Maj Gen Rabie stated that the DPME introduced a new planning framework, revised formats and revised requirements for strategic plans and APP’s. SAPS is required to have an AOP at the Departmental level. The intention was that the strategic plan should include impact-based and outcome-based indicators so that these are reflected in the APP. The activity-based and input-based indicators must be migrated to the Departmental AOP. The performance indicators including the Rural Safety Strategy and the ICDMS have been moved to the AOP. The introduction of perception-based indicators in the strategic plan will test community perceptions on the activities of the Department. It’s not a matter of removing the indicators but rather migrating them.

Gen Sitole replied that the AOP is available if members require an insight into where the indicators have been migrated to.

Lt Gen Seswantsho Lebeya, National Head: Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, SAPS, replied that SAPS currently has limited capacity in the specialized units for cybercrime and narcotics. It has already started with the recruitment process with the additional budget that it received and became available on 1 April 2020. However, Covid-19 arrived earlier and delayed the advertisement process. SAPS intends to target individuals with qualifications in accountancy, computer skills and legal qualifications. It is also continuing with posts that were already advertised before the lockdown and is looking for a mechanism to conduct these interviews. On illegal mining, there was an arrest in Limpopo yesterday. The trafficking of precious minerals and organised crime is part of what SAPS is dealing with and there is a strategy focusing on it.

Lt Gen Moeketsi Sempe, Divisional Commissioner: Visible Policing, SAPS, informed Members that a firearm license cannot be renewed without a valid competency certificate of that particular firearm. If the license has expired then there is a need for a competency certificate to also be renewed. If the certificate is valid but the licence has expired then you don’t need to renew the certificate. There will be instances where both have expired and then there is a need for both to be renewed. SAPS will engage with and correct the matter raised by Mr Groenewald.

Gen Sitole replied there is an arrangement between the SAPS and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to establish a dedicated unit to deal with illegal mining. SAPS met with the Head of Defence and is looking at a combined combat approach. On the 30 stations, all stations are part of the stabilization and normalization process. The stations first get loaded on the stabilization plan that includes high density interventions. The moment they stabilize, they are put in the normalization programme.

Co-Chairperson Joemat-Pettersson thanked the SAPS team for their responses and asked members if they wanted to raise any additional questions.

Mr Maphatsoe said visible policing is one of the best deterrents in the fight against crime. How will the SAPS deal with it and what are the measures being taken for more recruitment within the budget constraints?

Mr Emam said the statistics show that alcohol appears to be one of the root causes of crime in South Africa. The lockdown has limited the availability of it and the crime rate has reduced drastically. Minister, are you going to recommend that there should be some restrictions imposed on the sale of alcohol post-Covid-19? Perhaps by limiting the times of sales and not allowing it to be sold on a Sunday in order to reduce the crime levels and car accidents that are alcohol related.

Mr Shembeni noted the early outstanding cases of SAPS members who were suspended, went through the trial process and were acquitted. What is the number of these cases, were the members reinstated and if not, why? There are backdated cases from 2012 and 2015 of members who were acquitted and were supposed to return to SAPS.

Ms Mofokeng said it is worrying that the presentation says 90% of cases were finalised within the prescribed timeframe. The Indepdent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) presentation states there are challenges with post-mortem reports. What is SAPS actually saying because it is very clear that most of the cases are not finalised?

Mr Terblanche said in programme 1 the presentation indicates that capital expenditure is going to be reduced and diverted to the procurement of PPE’s, goods and services. Can more clarity be provided on this? What exactly are the goods and services that are targeted? Does it also include vehicles and buildings?

Mr Groenewald said the Minister has not answered his question about firearm businesses being shut down by the police because the police say such businesses don’t deliver essential services. Can the National Commissioner answer this instead? On the competency certificate, the problem is that the DFO’s themselves don’t know how the legislation works. For example, if you have a firearm for self-defence and hunting rifles and there’s one competency certificate, the DFO’s don’t look at the time period even though the certificate has not expired. It’s really worrying that the DFO’s don’t understand the legislation.

Mr E Mthethwa (ANC; KwaZulu-Natal) said the system of firearms is worrying. People have said that police confiscate their firearms on the basis that the competency certificate is expired. Those who did not renew it from the previous regime still treat the old certificate as having no expiry date and refuse to surrender it. Those who have complied have their firearms confiscated and their renewal suspended. Minister, how can that be explained?

Ms Mmola said she asked about the Senzo Meyiwa case earlier. Is it still on or off? Can you please tell members? Can members be provided with a list of all of SAPS’s disciplinary cases that are final and that are outstanding?

Ms Faku said the Portfolio Committee on Police has listened to what the CPF had to say. Can the SAPS take into consideration that these people are volunteering and risking their time? On Information and Communications Technology (ICT), what is the infrastructure plan and what projects are included in the plan? What are the timeframes associated with the plan over the short term and medium term?

Gen Sitole replied that even if the Department would like to increase SAPS members, this is impacted by Covid-19. Visible policing must continue but SAPS wanted to divert all the focus onto the Safer City technology and towards a modernization approach. Most of the budget is going to be diverted towards technology. If the technology can be used in bigger cities then SAPS will be able to address up to 50% of its visible policing programme. The plan to require more personnel has not stopped. The sooner there is liquor legislation the better. Certain restrictions should be maintained so that the crime levels don’t increase again. The report on outstanding members who were acquitted can be provided to members in writing. The Department has already signed the reinstatement of about 5 members and it is dealing with them on a case by case basis. On post-mortem reports, SAPS experiences the same problem that IPID experiences. It’s a problem that is being taken up together with the Department of Health so that it can assist with the fast tracking of reports. On the Senzo Meyiwa case, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the SAPS are dealing with the case. The NPA has appointed 4 advocates who are currently working on the case. As soon as the advocates have made a decision then the police will either effect an arrest or comply with further direction from the NPA. The list of disciplinary cases will be provided to members in writing. The issue of CPF will be escalated with the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service (CSPS).

Co-Chairperson Joemat-Pettersson said she is going to close the meeting soon and asked the presenters to be brief with their responses. Any unanswered questions can be responded to in writing.

Lt Gen Dimpane replied that SAPS is already constrained with allocation to goods and services so the Department is currently in the process of reprioritizing. SAPS will then look at all of the line items and do the allocations. This will be clearer when the adjusted budget is presented.

Gen Sitole replied that he is going to issue an instruction that a conversation is convened with the DFO’s so the matter can be corrected. The rest of the questions will be responded to in writing and where the SAPS requires the support of the Committee this will be indicated.

Co-Chairperson Joemat-Peterrsson asked what happened to the firearm amnesty. How far are we now with the amnesty? This response can be provided to members in writing.

Minister Cele said he wants to assure Ms Mofokeng that the question of GBV is taken very seriously by the whole government including the SAPS. The national strategy plan has just been handed over by the GBV Steering Committee and it is moving forward to create a permanent committee. SAPS takes it very seriously and enhances its own structures. The cluster is working very hard on this matter. On the liquor restrictions, life will never be the same after Covid-19. Visible policing won’t become an issue because there is a move towards implementing the Safer City Strategy and its technology. Countries like China who have this strategy and technology have police members in every corner of the cities. The 7000 personnel won’t be cancelled, it is merely postponed until the time is better. On essential services, at a certain given time there are activities that are not deemed as essential. This will change as the country moves onto the different stages of lockdown. On illegal mining or commercial crimes, there will be a mighty approach towards this issue. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is going to be part of it as well as the mines themselves. This is an area that the Department needs to work very hard at.

Co-Chairperson Shaikh said the country faces unprecedented times and the Covid-19 crisis has wrecked havoc in the economy. The briefing has highlighted both positive and negative sides. On the positive side, SAPS has highlighted certain crimes and on the negative side SAPS has highlighted the potential impact of Covid-19 on the budget and its programmes. Members welcome this level of reflection because it assists them in their deliberations. It must be ensured that SAPS members have the necessary PPE’s to ensure their safety at all times. Members are aware of the number of SAPS members who are infected and the leadership is encouraged to protect its officials on the front line.

Co-Chairperson Joemat-Peterrson thanked the SAPS team for its presentation and the amazing and vigorous work it is doing to manage the Covid-19 situation. There are problems but these can be addressed. It’s important to work together because Covid-19 requires government to be united. Members supported the Minister and thanked the Department for its high standard of work.

The meeting was adjourned.