Honourable speaker
Madam Premier
Honourable members
Government officials
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me first take this opportunity to thank the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Liaison for such a comprehensive analysis of the department, which gives clear indication of the areas that we need to improve on.
Programme 1: Corporate Services
The Department of Safety and Liaison is well known for its small size and limited capacity, but with a huge mandate of leading the fight against crime in this province. Some honourable members of this house would recall that this department was once referred to as a ‘spaza shop’ of the provincial administration, when it came to its budget.
When looking at the personnel of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Eastern Cape and the number of officials from this department, who are expected to conduct oversight on such a big institution, one really wonders how do they manage to do their work?
Fortunately our organogram has been approved and a submission has been made to the provincial treasury to deal with this challenge. This will further assist in filling the vacant posts for Information and Communication Technology, Special Programmes Unit, Research, Finance, Complaints and Customer Care components.
I have also identified the limitations within our communications unit, but I have reinforced the team with somebody with more experience to assist in all communication related matters.
Programme 2: Community Safety
Honourable members would recall that our core mandate is oversight of the SAPS hence the bulk of our budget is directed to compensation of employees. But this will soon change as we are intending to have more projects on the ground, where we will put more resources.
These include neighbourhood watches, street and village committees, where we purchased torches and reflective jackets for members to use during patrols with the police. We are going to see more of these activities going forward.
The issue of funding for Community Police Forums (CPF) has been on the table for some time now, but there are discussions at a national level on how to deal with this situation. This house will be kept abreast about these developments. I have further instructed the SAPS in this province to refrain from transporting CPF members in police vans. Better vehicles will now be utilised to transport these members to attend their meetings.
The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster (JCPS) yesterday resolved to fast-track the process of signing Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between various departments, including Social Development. We intend to work together to ensure that we improve conditions in the existing victim empowerment centres and continue to roll-out these centres throughout the province.
Our primary focus is on:
* rendering of integrated victim empowerment services, especially to survivors of women and child abuse
* integrated research.
The MOU on Safer Schools has been forwarded to the Department of Education and we expect that soon it will be signed with a particular focus on:
* establishment of Safer Schools committees at 53 identified schools and development of integrated crime prevention plans in those schools
* strengthening community participation in school safety programmes.
There are many other MOUs that have been submitted to various departments in order to deal with all challenges of safety and security in our province, which include, amongst others:
* safety of tourists and foreign nationals
* stock theft, especially on the Lesotho border
* rural safety
* 2010 safety plan
* improvement of border control and security
* dealing with human trafficking.
Through collaboration within the JCPS cluster, we will continue to improve the working relations with the Independent Complaints Directorate.
Programme 3: Financial Management
Honourable speaker, through our strong financial controls, we have been able to get an unqualified audit report for the sixth time, which clearly demonstrates the department’s ability to adhere to the principles of the Public Finance Management Act. We will continue to improve on the payment of creditors on time and within that particular financial year.
In conclusion, I would like to once more express my sincere gratitude to the committee for its good work and promise that we will strive to improve the areas identified in the report.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Ncedo Kumbaca
Tell: 043 604 7584
E-mail: nossy.mzini@dot.ecprov.gov.za
Issued by: Ministry for Roads and Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
24 July 2009
