Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula has apologised for the lack of consultation about the restructuring of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
This, after NGOs decried the unilateral decision.
”If indeed … NGOs believe it was wrong for us not to consult, we apologise,” Nqakula told the business community at a Business Against Crime briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday.
It had been felt that the country’s people had given a mandate for the government to conduct policing ”in the best possible way”.
” … and therefore left it to us to discharge that responsibility to the best of our ability,” said Nqakula.
An evaluation was done. ”It was felt it was not necessary to consult.”
Nqakula said some people believed a special unit in the SAPS were going to be dissolved or dismembered.
”It is a misreading of the situation to believe that the family violence and child section units are being dismantled.”
They were instead being pushed to local level and being divided between local police stations.
Some of these police stations would be clustered into groupings of about six with one ”an accounting station”.
”That is going to ensure within that area of jurisdiction, indeed, performance is raised,” the minister said.
”I believe once we have completed the process there will be clear results,” he said. — Sapa