Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Hon members, Deputy President and hon Minister, there are three very important points that I want to raise here. The first one is accountability. The Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation will now report directly to the Minister, not through the national commissioner, as was happening before.
The budget will be prepared and submitted to the national commissioner for the national commissioner to submit to Treasury as is. The national commissioner will not have the power to change or make variations to the DPCI budget. We are creating a synergy between the national commissioner and the head of the DPCI.
The head of the DPCI will accompany the national commissioner to assist in presenting the service budget or estimate to Treasury, in order for the head to account for the monies that will be allocated to the DPCI. We in the Portfolio Committee on Police acknowledge that section 217(1) and (2) of the Constitution of South Africa give the national commissioner the powers to manage and control the police. We know that. However, that is why we put the head in tandem or in synergy with the national head of the DPCI.
On security of tenure, the head of the DPCI will control the structure for its employees and manage them under the policy that has been laid down by him or her under the guidance of the Minister. The secure period of employment, from seven to ten years, allows for the management, control and direction of the DPCI. Discipline will be controlled within the DPCI, without the interference of the national commissioner. Consultation will take place with the national commissioner whenever there is a need to do so.
On judicial oversight, the national Civilian Secretariat for Police will now be able to know and prepare the budget of the judge in its wing. This is to ensure that nothing interferes with the independence of inquiries that will be conducted by such a judge.
Lastly, on the ministerial committee, the powers and functions of this committee have been curtailed and limited. It now only has to report to Parliament on their function and unblock the obstacles within the department whenever they occur. They have no power to direct the DPCI on how to do its work and no power to influence cases anymore.
This means that the amending legislation before the hon House has been overhauled and is different from what was presented to the Portfolio Committee on Police. The portfolio committee has attempted to satisfy the objections of the Constitutional Court. If the Constitutional Court disagrees with us as a committee, or with Parliament, it should be very specific on what points it disagrees with us. The IFP supports the South African Police Service Amendment Bill. [Applause.]