Madam Chairperson, for a medical practitioner to be able to cure a patient, he or she not only needs to come up with the correct diagnosis, but must have the right tools at his or her disposal to treat the patient. In a similar vein, in a country where crime is rampant, our policemen and women need to be equipped and skilled to fight crime successfully and vigorously.
Yet, if we ask the ordinary man in the street whether they believe that the SA Police Service is adequately equipped and skilled to protect them, or whether they believe that phoning the 10111 centre will get them the help they need, we will be greeted with a resounding no. Today violent crime is the cancer that erodes the fabric of the nation. Rampant crime prevents us from classifying our country as a normal democracy or a country at peace with itself. We live in a country where criminals rob us of our precious lives and property.
A quick look at the findings of the Auditor-General's report adds to this list of woes and does not give one any comfort that our police force is up to the task of fighting crime successfully. The report revealed that, due to a lack of an approved policy, there were inconsistencies in the implementation of sector policing and in the resource allocation between different police stations. Furthermore, there were instances where operational members did not possess driving licences. The report also revealed that there was nonattendance and noncompliance with regard to training courses, while not all the SAPS members were being issued with bulletproof vests.
With regard to the 10111 call centres, the report found, shockingly, that there is no fully functional 10111 call centre in Mpumalanga province. With regard to the other call centres there were deficiencies when it comes to the reaction time between the call centre and the policing units. What, then, must be done to keep us safe and secure and to improve the effectiveness of the SAPS?
The IFP believes that we need, first and foremost, to develop a highly qualified, well-paid and highly motivated cadre of crime fighters to make South Africa a safe place. We need to upgrade our training system with a special focus on investigative skills and forensics. Government must provide adequate resources for effective, efficient and professional policing. This must be extended to our 10111 call centres as well.
The report also suggests that sector policing is not working in its current form. We are therefore calling for policing powers to be decentralised, even to the local level. We therefore urge government to look at this report and to recognise the urgent need to fix the many problems that are currently paralysing and rendering the SAPS ineffective. Only then will we be able to start making headway in our fight against rampant crime in South Africa. I thank you, Chair.