Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, members of the department, all our visitors, hon colleagues, let me address myself to hon Groenewald even though he is not in the House.
Wanneer hy van plaasmoorde praat, hoop ek hy praat nie net van plaaseienaars nie, maar ook van plaaswerkers, want moord is moord. [When he talks about farm murders, I hope he is not only referring to farm owners, but also to farmworkers, because murder is murder.]
The ICD draws its mandate from the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996. The ICD is now in its 13th year of existence. Since its establishment in April 1997, it has performed an enormously challenging task of ensuring proper police conduct using limited resources.
The ICD is the smallest department within the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster. For the 2010-11 financial year, it received an increased allocation of R129 million.
As an independent oversight body, the ICD plays the important role of keeping the police in check. The police are the face of the government and they are given enormous power, which can be easily abused. Such abuse of power can be detrimental to the country's democracy, hence we have an institution such as the ICD that is responsible for the checks and balances to ensure that democracy is sustained.
The role of the ICD has become even more important as government has expressed its intention to confront and deal decisively with the issue of crime, which has brought about certain developments for crime combating, including the strengthening of the police. These developments in the field of policing require a fortified civilian oversight structure in order to prevent the abuse of power by the police.
The ICD also ensures that the police are accountable to the public. The fight against corruption is one of government's priorities for 2010-11, as was stated by the President in his state of the nation address. Clearly, the importance of the role of the ICD as watchdog over the police cannot be overemphasised.
The challenge that is often pointed out is the disproportionate growth in strength between the SAPS and the ICD. Currently the SAPS has about 185 000 members and plans to increase its strength to 192 240 by the end of March. On the other hand, the ICD has a total of 271 employees.
For many years the ICD has been referred to as a toothless watchdog because of the limited powers given to it by legislation. In terms of the current legislation, the SAPS is under no obligation to implement any of the ICD recommendations. This situation is about to change, as the proposed ICD legislation is, among other things, aimed at addressing such challenges.
The new ICD legislation is expected to be tabled before Parliament during the course of the current financial year. The envisaged legislative changes will include extending the mandate of the ICD to focus on more serious and priority crimes; improve the management structures of the directorate; improve reporting and accountability practices in the directorate; establish a formal liaison capacity between the ICD and the Secretariat of Police and, lastly, enforce compliance by the SAPS with recommendations made in respect of SAPS members.
Plans to strengthen the ICD are in place and their implementation began in 2009 with the appointment of the executive director as the head of the ICD. Further activities aimed at strengthening this institution will be rolled out during the course of the current financial year.
These will include the reorganisation of the ICD by tailoring its mandate to focus mainly on the most serious matters of police transgressions, such as death in police custody or as a result of police action or torture.
The President of the Republic of South Africa declared 2010 the year of action. Currently the ICD has six satellite offices countrywide and it plans to establish three more in 2010-11.
The aim is to establish a total of 22 satellite offices in the medium term. The establishment of satellite offices will be accompanied by a vigorous communication strategy that capitalises on awareness campaigns to alert people, particularly those who are in rural areas.
Crimes against women and children and inequalities exist in all communities to varying degrees. In this regard, the ANC 52nd conference resolutions reaffirm its stand against all forms of crime against women and children.
Dit is op grond hiervan dat die Onafhanklike Klagtedirektoraat se begroting verwelkom moet word. Die begroting moet verseker dat groter onafhanklikheid verkry word om korrupsie en misdaad teen vroue en kinders te beveg, in lyn met hul mandaat. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[It is on the basis of this that the budget for the Independent Complaints Directorate should be welcomed. The budget must ensure that greater independence is acquired in fighting corruption and crime against women and children, in accordance with their mandate.]
Mokgatlho wa ANC o re rotloetsa go dira mmogo go tokafatsa matshelo a batho ba rona. [The ANC encourages us to work together to improve the lives of our people.]
Die ANC ondersteun hierdie begrotingspos. Ek dank u. [The ANC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you.]