Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and the honourable House, I will start with the selective understanding and thinking of some of the members who speak from this podium. The dignity and reputation of the police are in tatters at this moment. However, not all police officials are involved in causing this. Only a few police officials are very bad indeed and should be rooted out once and for all. However, the behaviour of the rogue ones seems to overshadow that of the good ones who are doing their job. Therefore, it has to be done immediately.
Their actions have reversed any strides that have been made to improve the reputation of the police. However, it appears that these bad apples are unconcerned as long as they are employed in the Police Service. Minister, I am saying this because of litigation costs against the Ministry. Their behaviour has cost the state a lot of money, reportedly R14 billion or more. These legal actions are increasing alarmingly and the Minister of Police is accountable for all these cases against officials involved.
Ngikhuluma nomhlonishwa; wena uyamthikazisa. [I am addressing the hon Minister and you are distracting him.] [Laughter.] The amount of money paid out by the Department of Police is escalating annually and it is taxpayers' money - it is not paid by the rogue policemen and women individually. It is time that after the litigation processes have been completed, those police personnel who have been found guilty should pay back the costs of what they have been found guilty of.
Regarding the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, Ipid, while Parliament has done its work to improve the workings of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, it has come to nothing, because their recommendations are not implemented by the police. The Ipid can only make recommendations; they cannot force the police to implement their recommendations.
Police members who are sent to supervise marches and service delivery protests should be carefully monitored to ensure that we never again have a situation where demonstrators lose their lives as a result of police action. Where police action does result in a person's death, the National Prosecuting Authority, "amaBhungane", must prosecute. Prosecution must be improved because if people have died, somewhere, somehow somebody has to be found guilty. We must do everything to find somebody guilty. It cannot be that they are all are freed.
The Ipid must improve its investigations so that perpetrators of wrongdoing are punished. I am saying this with regard to a case in the Free State, where all the police were found not guilty and were released. However, the fact remains that someone died after police intervention. This needs to be corrected immediately. In addition, any municipal police who are involved in these acts should be investigated as well.
Pertaining to the decision by the National Development Plan, NDP, the Department of Police must start immediately to implement the resolutions of the NDP that do not cost money. Professionalising the police and streamlining the appointment and promotion of policemen and women should be done now. This department must act on these recommendations before it runs out of time as there are problems in the police leadership as we speak.
When, as different parties, we recommend to government that the National Commissioner, or anybody else as leader of the police, should be a police person, we say so with the understanding of how policing works. Police personnel always respect on another.
Mhlonishwa, ahlakaniphile amaphoyisa; awazona iziphukuphuku. Abantu abahlakaniphile amaphoyisa. [Hon Minister, the police are very knowledgeable; they are not stupid.] Although the work of civilian secretariats has improved, the department needs to do more, especially on the legislation part of the secretariat. Streamlining the White Paper on Police and the introduction of Bills in Parliament has to be done with speed. The section for monitoring and evaluation should be secured, because of the sensitive work it performs.
Regarding the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, PSIRA, a board should be fully appointed in order for it to perform properly. Its work should be professionalised and board members should know that they are accountable to Parliament through the portfolio committee. I urge the Minister to employ full-time staff in the Ipid instead of their acting as though they are in Hollywood. I thank you. [Applause.]