Chairperson, I am in charge of safety and security in Mpumalanga and I make sure that when people phone me to tell me that a doctor and his wife have been raped by criminals, I stand up and give instructions. I wonder why Mr Wiley does not do that. The public must ask themselves why this is so. We are all aware that policing has been one of the subjects for speculation during the whole period of the old dispensation. This came from a background in which service delivery was not an issue as long as specific ideological objectives were fulfilled.
The new dispensation brought about a turning point in these processes and service delivery became a priority. The police service was expected to conform to different norms in order to ensure that service delivery is a success. In order for the police service to be able to conform to these norms, various legacies of the past were supposed to be eradicated, and this we have done. This process has, indeed, taken place, but old tendencies and habits which still exist leave much to be desired. These tendencies and habits are born of the old culture which can only be changed through a process. It is the effectiveness and the practicability of this process which put service delivery to the test.
The following subjects have a practical bearing on the whole question of service delivery. The first subject is the budget. A unilateral approach has characterised the culture of allocating the budget in the service. Although there are certain factors which are taken into account when allocating the budget, there is no fixed national formula. In addition to this, a central bargaining structure where all provinces can bargain for their share does not exist. The application of the factors against the national allocation is also done without the participation of provinces, something which gives national Government the power to make adjustments unilaterally.
What has also become a disturbing factor in this process is the fact that several components chop and change between the national and provincial levels. This makes the historical data unreliable. Although the provincial allocation for Mpumalanga has not yet been given, we are convinced that it shall be far below our requirements, just as has been the case in the previous financial years. But we must also bear in mind the national considerations.
The second factor is human resource and related problems. Human resource- related problems cover the greatest area in the SAPS. The following are a few subjects covered in this area. The first subject is promotions. A promotions policy was drawn up at the beginning of the new dispensation, but has to date not yet been completed. An interim policy has been used throughout the process, but its disadvantage is the fact that it is characterised by various moratoriums and several conditions. The absence of this policy has completely hampered human resource development and continuity in leadership. The organisation is currently experiencing a concentration of ranks at certain levels, especially at the level of inspector.
An audit for promotion according to the different ranks is not really available in the SAPS. The number of promotions to be effected is always determined by the size of the budget and is only known when applications for those who qualify are called. This is an area which has the greatest impact on service delivery, because it has caused a high state of demoralisation amongst the workforce. How can a person render effective service if he or she is not promoted because of the lack of an effective promotions policy? However, I must say that this is a question that the national Department of Safety and Security is addressing.
The second subject is discipline and racial conflicts. It is also an indisputable fact that discipline in general has deteriorated in the service. One of the contributory factors to this is transformation. Many individuals, especially leaders, earned automatic respect which was created through subserviency to the system. The command language of the leadership of the SAPS also changed and unions also came in to test the negotiation skills of the SAPS managers, including their diplomacy and professional leadership in general.
Leaders and members, in general, are now expected to conform to certain norms, ethics and standards in order to earn dignity and respect. [Interjections.] It has therefore become clear to every member in the service that the Constitution has removed all barriers attached to the system, and they have begun to exercise their rights. Leaders who still relied on the advantages of the system and those who led through command and control began to lose power.
Tension was created between general members and the leadership, which was also fuelled by the advent of the unions. Many of the leaders resorted to command and control for survival and supported their stand with negative discipline.
Having stated the above, we wish to commend the decision by national Commissioner Jackie Selebi to devolve disciplinary powers to the station commanders on the ground. We are confident that if all rules are properly applied we shall get discipline back to all our members. However, we need to caution that one should guard against racially motivated disciplinary action.
Regarding resources and restructuring, the distribution of resources is one of the prominent priorities of the transformation and covert in the dimension for restructuring. The complexity of this subject goes back to the introduction of the new dispensation, when the different agencies were amalgamated. This process was nothing but a flocking of blacks from black areas to former white-dominated areas. This also amounted to a shift of resources from these areas to white-dominated areas.
Mpumalanga is a good example of this, since both the provincial headquarters and all three areas are in the former SAP's F region, all in towns such as Middelburg. No establishment was put in the Kwa-Mhlanga and Mbuzini areas, only small stations. I wish to report that, as the administration is in the process of moving the Highveld headquarters from Middelburg to Kwa-Mhlanga, certain unions, who are obviously still stuck in the past, have declared a dispute against the SAPS. This is really unacceptable. Other quarters have raised business concerns and suggested that moving from Middelburg to Kwa-Mhlanga might prejudice the business prospects of Middelburg. What type of people are we to put more weight on business prospects than on the interests of our people, who were previously disadvantaged and are now desperately in need of policing? [Time expired.] [Applause.]