Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature
DepuAty Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature
Honourable Premier of Gauteng
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature
Members of Mayoral Committees responsible for Community Safety
The Head of Department of Community Safety
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service
Executive Directors for Community Safety in Municipalities
The Chiefs of Metropolitan Police Departments
The Chiefs of Local Traffic Departments in District Municipalities
Distinguished Guests
Safety Volunteers
Comrades and Friends
Introduction
The building of a safe and secure Gauteng continues to be the cornerstone of the work that the provincial government and municipalities carry out daily. It is driven by the deepest of our convictions that no citizen can ever fully enjoy and realise their freedoms, unless such freedoms are underpinned by the constitutionally guaranteed right to safety and a safe environment. Families, particularly children, must thrive in an environment unimpeded by the scourge of crime that can only serve to reproduce itself as it engulfs young people growing up.
The province has in the last year witnessed a number of horrific incidents and brutal acts visited on young people and girls. It gets worse when some of the victims are said to be in a mental state. As I indicated during this time last year, the moral barometer of any society is “the extent to which its women, children and the most vulnerable are protected”.
The actions of ruthless patriarchs using the notoriety of public transport nodes, especially taxi ranks, to harass young women ostensibly inappropriately dressed, the tolerance in some of our communities of juvenile gang rapes and cell phone footage getting widely circulated are all a reflection of how we have deteriorated social cohesion as a people. And mind you Honourable Members these are incidents that got the attention of the nation because they were reported in the media.
The strengthening of social cohesion in our communities is undoubtedly high on the agenda of the work we are doing this financial year in the department. We will henceforth deepen our social crime prevention initiatives, tighten the content of our community mobilisation and messaging as well as contribute towards ensuring stiff punishment for those who met out this animal behaviour.
These incidents happen against the backdrop of the important gains we have made in fighting other forms of crime. Whilst we commended the good work done by the department, the South African Police Service, the Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane Metropolitan Police Departments, the Mogale City, Westonaria, Randfontein and Khutsong Traffic Departments in the West Rand District, the Midvaal, Lesedi and Emfuleni Traffic Departments in the Sedibeng District in reducing trio crimes, we equally noted with concern the high number of crimes committed against women and children in our province.
Although we must now prioritise the fight against women and children abuse, we will not take our eyes of the trio crimes as we must build on the successes recorded in 2010/11 to make our communities even safer.
In this the centenary of our glorious National Liberation Movement, the African National Congress, we owe to our children and future generations a legacy for which this milestone must be remembered. It is particularly in this centenary year and beyond, that we should leave a mark as having arrested the scourge of women and children abuse in our communities.
Elsewhere below, we detail our efforts at uprooting fraud and corruption within our law enforcement agencies, the Driver Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) and Vehicle Testing Stations (VTSs). We are in this regard encouraged by the relentless efforts of the South African Police Service in arresting more than 600 of their own members for alleged corrupt behaviour in the last year. This is important if we are to defeat crime in our province. We need crime fighters who are themselves not criminals.
The department’s budget remains rooted in our six out puts, namely:
- Reduction in violent crimes
- Reduction in crimes against women and children
- Crime perception management
- Effectiveness and integration of the criminal justice system
- Reduction in corruption, and
- Reduction in road fatalities
The total appropriation for the 2012/13 financial is R435, 747 million, set hereunder.
Reducing trio crimes (R23, 169 million)
The notable progress made in fighting the triple crimes of house robbery, business robbery and vehicle hijacking is an indication of this government’s resolve to make our communities safe, and ensure they also feel safe. It is especially these crimes that we must drive downwards as they account for the most fear in communities. We are convinced that once our citizens are able to lead their lives without the threat of being violated in their homes, vehicles and places of work, positive perceptions and high levels of confidence in our law enforcement agencies will strengthen.
In this regard the department will continue to, and strengthen our oversight activities at station level to realise better performance. We will focus our efforts on the 32 worst performing station across the province, who also collectively account for the majority of crimes committed in the province. R3,4 million has been set aside in this regard.
A further 1 200 trio crimes dockets will be audited. Docket audits provide the department and the police crucial information on deficiencies inherent in the investigation process, thus enabling us to recommend corrective steps. This is intended to ensure an increase in trial ready dockets to allow for an increase in the rate of conviction of these crimes. Whilst arrests for trio crimes are high, few actual convictions and incarceration are secured. A high convictions rate will in itself obviously act as a deterrent to potential criminals.
To this end the Department will continue with station visits, assess the performance of clusters with respect to priority crimes and monitor the collaboration and coordination between the South African Police Service and the National Prosecuting Authority at cluster level. During the financial year 2011/12, 690 dockets closed as undetected and withdrawn were audited.
Work undertaken in the previous financial year has already demonstrated key areas for improvement. Poor statement taking, the contamination of crime scenes which undermines the credibility of evidence, inconsistent updating of case dockets and a lack of effective communication between detectives and prosecutors are some of the findings resulting from the audits. The South African Police Service, under the leadership of the Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mzwandile Petros, is already hard at work implementing the 10 Point Detectives Plan. The plan will focus on, amongst others:
- Ensure that the percentage of dockets sent to court for all A-crimes is increased
- Ensure the detection rate for all A-crimes is increased in Gauteng
- To ensure the conviction rate for all A-crimes is increased in Gauteng
- Ensure an improvement in the quality of investigations to achieve the increases listed above
- To ensure dockets integrity through daily, weekly and monthly monitoring, and decrease the number of complaints against poor quality investigations
- Address the backlog in outstanding cases
- Ensure that Detective Service Offices are 100% resourced
- Ensure Detective Service personnel are adequately developed to provide an acceptable standard of service
- Ensure an effective and efficient informer network is developed and maintained, to enable the arrest of perpetrators
- Improve the corporate image of the South African Police Service
We also spoke in 2011 about the Gauteng Co-created Policing Strategy which focused on ten crime generators that was already being implemented in the province during the last financial year. As the 2010/11 crime statistics demonstrated, progress has been recorded. In particular successes have been achieved around building hijacking in the city centre and elsewhere in the province and drug related crimes through the smashing of syndicates is ongoing.
Visible policing has perhaps been the hallmark of the implementation of this strategy. The department is consistently monitoring the efficacy of visible policing by examining the implementation of sector policing.
In this regard, Honourable Members would have noticed the deployment of the Flying Squad on the on-ramps of our major highways in the province. This is done jointly with the various Metropolitan Police Departments in the province. This is a crucial development in ensuring motorists feel safe along our roads. Visible policing has a major bearing on perceptions of safety. This initiative will be sustained and extended to as many point along our highways as possible.
Similarly, the department is also regularising the holding of quarterly review sessions with the South African Police Service and the three Metropolitan Police Departments. This is an area that has posed challenges previously, but both the department and law enforcement agencies have agreed the need for improvement in this area. A roundtable to agree processes will shortly be held to address this matter.
Reducing crimes against women and children (R31, 719 million)
As I indicated above, recent incidents in Soweto and Bronkhorstspruit have again brought to sharp focus the need for us to step up our interventions, both preventative and punitive, in order to arrest the scourge of women and child abuse. We have a responsibility, together with our social partners and other spheres of government, to ensure young people are nurtured in a responsible environment so they can become responsible adults and future leaders. Our programmes will relate to the following:
Promotion of Youth Safety
The department will focus on increasing the participation and involvement of young people in crime prevention initiatives through the Youth Crime Prevention Desks in all police stations, clusters and provincial levels. These desks will be capacitated with resources and training which will enable them to design and implement social crime prevention activities addressing crime challenges in their area. Young people will also be engaged through Seminars, Izimbizo and dialogues in finding solutions to crime challenges within the province.
Focus will also be given to youth at risk and those in conflict with the law. The department will conduct an analysis of the profiles of youth in conflict with the law, design and implement appropriate interventions for them.
Furthermore an additional 600 young people will be placed on the National Youth Service Program (NYS) and deployed at police stations to implement social crime prevention projects, these young people will be capacitated through an accredited Social crime prevention training program. This programme is in partnership with the Department of Infrastructure Development as of the Extended Public Works Programme.
Alcohol and drug abuse prevention
The department will continue to implement the program which is aimed at addressing the increasing challenges of alcohol and substance abuse in communities through awareness raising and capacity building.
The following activities will be undertaken:
- 300 liquor enforcement operations targeting problematic shebeens and taverns will be co-ordinated
- Coordination of School safety searches targeting problematic schools
- Substance Abuse Awareness campaigns and talks in schools
- Facilitate Correctional service visits by learners and youths
- 40 liquor education campaigns targeting liquor traders will be co-ordinated
Prevention of violence against women and children (VAWAC)
The department will coordinate and implement initiatives geared towards reducing and preventing violent crimes against vulnerable groups (women, children and people with disabilities). Furthermore the programmes such as Men as Safety Promoters which are aimed at advocating for and promoting the participation of men and boys in preventing VAWAC will be implemented.
The coordination and implementation of the provincial VAWAC strategy will focus on the following:
- Coordination of the 365 days program of action to end gender based violence(including the coordination of the Provincial 16 days of activism campaign
- Coordination of the provincial Gender Based Violence Prevention Forum
- 4970 people will be reached through the facilitation of Child Safety promotion workshops
- An additional 70 Men As Safety Promoters groups will be established
- 2520 women will be reached through the facilitation of Women Safety Workshops and establishment of Women Safety Desks and Elderly Safety Desks
- 1200 people will be reached through the facilitation of safety awareness workshops for people with disabilities
Promotion of school safety
The school safety program is aimed at designing and implementing an integrated framework and approach to all aspects of school safety and security. The program further coordinates and sets up structures to implement and monitor the school safety programmes. The programmes are undertaken in partnership with the Department of Education and the SAPS.
The following activities will be undertaken:
- Capacity building of 350 schools will be undertaken
- Facilitating the development of school safety plans and the establishment of 350 safety teams
- Monitoring the implementation of school safety plans
- 50 school safety desks will be established
- Coordinating Quarterly Provincial Implementation Committee Workshops
- Conducting Child Safety Awareness
- 300 learners will be trained as School Safety Ambassadors
- 2400 community patrollers will be deployed in identified problematic schools
- 700 school searches will be co-ordinated
Mainstreaming and co-ordination of social crime prevention in government
The use of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process to identify and to integrate safety efforts in each municipality is recognised as key to developing safety interventions on the scale and quality required to reduce crime. The department provides IDP training to municipal safety officials to assist them in using the IDP process to integrate safety issues and have them reflected in a manner that promotes further integration and enhances government accountability on safety issues
In strengthening the capacity of local government in social crime prevention work the department will undertake the following:
- The development and implementation of regional social crime prevention plans with municipalities
- Conduct social crime prevention training workshops
- Coordinate quarterly social crime prevention workshops
- Facilitating the support and strengthening of Community Safety Forums
Ikhaya Lethemba
Ikhaya Lethemba, the one stop centre for victims of sexual and domestic violence will be fully functional throughout the 2012-2013 financial year. The centre continues to operate as a model centre for services to victims, combining professional medical, counselling, justice, policing and other support services for victims. The centre will continue to operate on a 24 hour basis, in order to provide active support to the local police stations and to the FCS units within the province.
Since its inception, Ikhaya Lethemba has made significant intervention to hundreds of victims across the province. Together with its network of Non Governmental Organisations, victim empowerment services have been provided to thousands of women in the province.
The centre has three high level units. The first is the professional services unit. This unit will continue to provide specialised services to adult and child victims including medico legal examinations. 1104 adults will receive this service in the current financial year. An expansion of the family justice unit is underway so family legal support sessions, post court debriefing sessions, court preparation and court accompaniment services will also be offered to victims who are entering the criminal justice service. The unit will also expand its tracking capacity around cases that enter the CJS through the Ikhaya Lethemba system. The unit will also continue to provide support to the FCS units based at the centre, namely that of Johannesburg and Hillbrow.
Ikhaya Lethemba runs a large shelter component, housing 140 women and children at a time within the building for up to six months. Approximately 360 women and children will be housed during the 2012/13 financial year. These clients will be assessed by the professional social work team. A full therapeutic programme will be offered to these clients. Women who are unemployed are offered the opportunity to take part in the skills development programme. Children are offered the opportunity to take part in the early childhood centre, where they are stimulated and supported. Children are also offered the opportunity to get therapeutic social work support if they require it.
The third unit is the victim empowerment centre unit. This unit provides support to 132 Victim Empowerment Centres that are based at police stations and run by volunteers. In this financial year 200 volunteers will be trained and a large number of quality assurance and supervision sessions will be offered to volunteers. Currently Ikhaya Lethemba has a partnership with nine NGOs in collaboration with the Department of Social Development, who also assist with support at police stations.
Furthermore Ikhaya Lethemba will continue with the roll out of the docket audit process on dockets that deal with sexual and domestic violence. Thousand dockets will be audited during 2012/2013. A further 9 green door sites will be launched. The previously launched green doors will continue to be supported.
Finally the Directorate will continue to provide support to the police through partnerships with the various FCS units in the province and the NPA. We will continue with our networking programme with professional volunteers, civil society and other victim support agencies.
Building communities that are intolerant to anti-social, animal and criminal behaviour requires that our existing partnerships with communities take on a different dimension. Deepening the Know your Neighbourhood Campaign through localising the campaign, working with municipalities, will again be the mainstay of our community outreach programmes. The Know your Neighbourhood Campaign will now constitute the content of all the work we do in communities, rather than as a standalone campaign. In addition to social crime prevention initiatives aimed at educating communities, the department will embark on a further 20 Crime Awareness Campaigns in the following areas:
Ekurhuleni
- Ramaphosa
- Tembisa
- Wattville
Tshwane
- Kanana
- Refilwe
- Herculors
- Soutpan
- Lusaka
Sedibeng
- Ironside
- Rustervaal
- Palm Springs
- Tsepong
- Scelo Shiceka
Johannesburg
- Poortjie
- Zola
- Orlando West
- Braamfischerville
Westrand
- Magaliesburg
- Slovoville
- Munsieville
We will also further localise, together with municipalities, the campaign in the 9 clusters of Mamelodi, Honeydew, Krugersdorp, Bronkhorstspruit, Hillbrow, Alexandra, Ga-Rankuwa, Benoni and Katlehong.
Our outdoor campaign to inform communities on all services of the department, including our sms line, will also continue. The important work we do with respect to media remains central to ensuring that we reach millions of our citizens in the province.
In encouraging community participation in the fight against crime the department will encourage the establishment of 22 street committees through providing support to Community Police Forums and Municipalities. We will shortly submit a list of locations we are prioritising for Street Committees.
The department is currently evaluating and analysing the environment of Street Committees in Sedibeng and Meadowlands. In Meadowlands a meeting is set down for 19 June 2012 for the Department to present its approach to Street Committees. The department will complete a draft Standard Operating Procedure for Street Committee by 30th May 2012.
Community Police Forums
Community Police Forums continue to occupy the central space in efforts to provide leadership to communities in the fight against crime. In this financial year the department will continue to assist and support Community Police Fora, Cluster Boards and the Provincial Board. The second batch of printers will be provided to Community Police Fora. The department will also develop and implement an Oversight model for CPFs in the 22 Clusters.
Work is also continuing to bring on board hostels in the fight against crime. This is an important initiative as it contributes towards the integration of hostels into broader township communities.
Community Patrollers
Madam Speaker and Honourable Members,
We are delighted at the successes brought about by this initiative to our province. When the programme was started, we were accused of abdicating our responsibility as government to provide safety in communities. The programme speaks for itself. This is the one initiative that has galvanised our communities into action in fighting crime, on a voluntary basis.
In the last financial year, the department deployed 4 188 patrollers at 398 schools in the province, in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Education. The patrollers were paid a minimum of R1 500 per person as part of the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP). Many of the schools at which the Patrollers are deployed have indicated that the theft of computers and vandalism of school property has diminished.
The programme has had its share of challenges such as the late payment of patrollers and ordinary patrolling of streets in certain getting compromised. Other challenges have included some patrollers abusing the system, the programme attracting individuals from other provinces and volunteers in local government also doubling as patrollers, resulting in double dipping the system. We are tightening the system through cleaning up of the database. An Imbizo will all community patrollers has already been held.
The department will carry on with the deployment of Patrollers as Tourism Safety Ambassadors at the Cradle of Humankind and Dinokeng Game Reserve. Currently there are 200 Patrollers at each site. A further 300 Patrollers will be deployed at Metrorail sites once the programme is formally launched. In addition, the department has deployed patrollers to provide security at the Boekenhoutkloof Traffic College, Donkerhoek Traffic Regional Office, Ikhaya Lethemba and Head Office. If we are serious about assisting our community patrollers exit the poverty trap, we must be at the frontline of such initiatives.
The poverty alleviation initiatives we are increasingly putting in place, must not be confused with voluntary patrolling that continues in communities in the evenings and early mornings.
Patrollers will continue to be inducted, trained, scrutinised and resourced to ensure that they carry out their duties according to the standards set. In order to improve the patroller programme the Departments of Community Safety and Education will approach the Gauteng City Region Academy to source accredited training for patrollers.
Research and Impact Assessment
The department is also undertaking a total of 8 research projects this financial year, ranging from the evaluation of the community patroller programme, through to impact assessment of our programmes and services.
Reducing corruption (R 5 million)
As is well known corruption within law enforcement agencies erodes the capacity of government in general to realise safety in communities. It also prevents citizens from fully realising their freedoms. The province is resolved on uprooting rogue behaviour as evidenced by the number of arrests I alluded to earlier.
The Department will continue with the implementation of the Sectoral Strategy to fight fraud and corruption in Law Enforcement Agencies. During the 2011/12 financial year the Department realised the registration of 3 high profile cases with the SAPS Organised Crime Unit and these are currently in the Criminal Justice System. The cases involve, among others, fraudulent issuing of driver’s licences and roadworthy certificates.
Compliance inspections at various Driver Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) and Vehicle Testing Stations (VTCs) are continuing to ensure compliance with the requirements of the National Road Traffic Act. The department plans to reduce fraud and corruption at the DLTCs and VTSs by 20% through the compliance audits at various stations/centres.
With a view to strengthening co-ordination between the Department and other Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) the Department is liaising with all LEAs to find ways of eradicating the conflict of interests involving Law Enforcement Officers as this can promote corrupt behaviour. The recent media reports on ownership of Taxis by Law Enforcement Officers bear testimony to this problem.
Effectiveness and integration of the criminal justice system
During the previous financial year, the department officially launched the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee after the Executive Council approved the cabinet memorandum. Further meetings of the Committee will continue in the new financial year.
The department has drafted a cabinet memorandum on improving forensic science capacity in the province and discussions were held with the Departments of Health and Social Development as well as the Forensic Science Laboratory of the South African Police Service. Further liaison has taken place with academics from the University of Witwatersrand and Pretoria to ensure that a three year Forensic Officers Course is offered to increase the capacity at Forensic Science Laboratories in Gauteng. Learners who are in Grade 10 to 12 will be targeted for entry into this course. Furthermore, medical students at universities will be encouraged to enrol for a Specialist Forensic Pathologists course once they have completed their community service. Bursaries will be provided for those who register for the Forensic Officers Course and the Specialist Forensic Pathologist degree.
Reducing fatalities (R264, 8 million)
The primary objective of this programme is to reduce road fatalities in this province; the target for this financial year is to reduce fatalities by 10% in line with the Millennium Development Goals as adopted by the United Nations (UN). In line with the UN, signatories to this declaration should reduce road traffic fatalities by 50% by the year 2014 which has been converted to a 10% reduction annually.
This programme implements law enforcement activities, road safety awareness and educational programmes including refresher training to traffic officers in an effort to decrease the number of fatalities on Gauteng roads.
Road Traffic Law Enforcement
Honourable Members,
Often the effectiveness and success of traffic law enforcement is reduced to the impact on statistics, which is whether they have increased or decreased. Whilst that is an important measure of our effectiveness, visible traffic law enforcement, like visible policing in general, should also be assessed on violations disrupted which could have resulted in fatalities.
The Gauteng Traffic Police will during the 2012/2013 financial year focus on vehicle and driver fitness. In this regard, the programme will conduct stop and search operations of vehicles, inclusive of crime prevention aspects of checking for illegal firearms, stolen vehicles, wanted suspects and narcotics. In excess of 890 400 vehicles will be stopped and inspected. Through these systematic inspections of vehicles, unroadworthy vehicles will be identified and accordingly charged. Unfit drivers will equally be charged and where necessary arrested.
These operations will be carried out across the province and all categories of vehicles will be targeted, including public passenger and freight vehicles.
This financial year will also see the Gauteng Traffic Police, jointly with other Law Enforcement Agencies, targeting taxi ranks in the province which are known to be havens for criminal activities. Added to this, most taxi ranks are infested with unroadworthy mini-bus taxis that are death-traps and coffins on wheels and should not be ferrying members of the public. Moreover, these ranks harbour unfit drivers as most of these drivers do not possess appropriate documentation to operate public passenger transport. Lawlessness by taxi drivers will not be tolerated in this province.
A significant number of taxis are also not properly licensed to operate as public transport vehicles. These operations are crucial because public passenger modes of transport account for a significant loss of lives as usually more than one person perishes during such accidents. Passengers must also know that they have rights as paying customers and should invoke them when necessary. 285 120 public transport, freight and learner transport vehicles will be inspected.
The Gauteng Traffic Police will also conduct special operations targeting learner transport. These operations will be carried out across the province. The sole objective of these operations is to ensure that our children arrive safely at their schools and that normal learning is not impeded through unnecessary accidents. This is one of the department’s major projects and it has had significant success in the past. In the recent past, these vehicles have been tested for roadworthiness and where they have been found to be unroadworthy, they have instantly been discontinued from operating and the same approach will be followed in the current financial year.
Another focus of the Gauteng Traffic Police’s strategy is to prevent pedestrian violations as this road user category single-handedly accounts for over 40% of road traffic fatalities in the province. Given these circumstances, this programme will execute over 800 operations aimed at safeguarding the lives of pedestrians. This will be achieved by removing and arresting pedestrians found jaywalking on freeways as this is prohibited by law. Jaywalking pedestrians and those found drinking and walking will be arrested. The programme will further rollout educational and awareness programmes to educate pedestrians about the dangers of their actions and supplement this with road safety tips for safe road usage.
Many of the documented contributory factors towards road fatalities relate to amongst others, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving above the prescribed speed limit and driving recklessly and negligently, in the process endangering the lives of other motorists. Given the gravity of these traffic offences and their direct contribution to the fatality rate in the province, the Gauteng Traffic Police will show no tolerance for motorists who are found committing these offences. Immediate arrests will be effected for such offences which will be enforced through the execution of more than 8 100 targeted operations. We would also like to issue a stern warning that the Department’s High Speed Unit will be out in full force to monitor high speedsters and no thought will be spared in their arrest.
The damage caused by overloaded vehicles, especially freight, has grave repercussions for the province’s road network, which also contributes to road fatalities. In order to lessen the damage caused by overloaded Heavy Motor Vehicles on our roads, this programme will subject over 156 000 Heavy Motor Vehicles to the provinces’ Traffic Control Centres to be weighed for overloading. Where these vehicles are found to be over the prescribed weight limit, it will be charged.
It is no longer debatable that Traffic Officers have a significant role in crime prevention. This can be evidenced through the successes recorded through the recovery of hijacked and stolen trucks and arrests effected by the Anti-truck Hijacking and Special Law Enforcement Units of the department. These Units jointly with the South African Police Service, Metropolitan Police Departments and other Law Enforcement Agencies will conduct in excess of 500 operations specifically aimed at bringing down incidences of truck hijacking in the province, which cripples the economy of this province.
A concerted effort will also be dedicated to monitoring situations of conflict and violence within the taxi industry. In this regard meetings will be convened with various taxi associations to proactively address possible conflict and amicably resolve potential conflict and violence.
Over and above law enforcement activities performed by this programme, the Gauteng Traffic Police has a unit that is responsible for promoting road safety through education and awareness campaigns. Law enforcement on its own cannot change the attitude and behaviour of road users and that to attain any measure of success in road safety, enforcement and education must work in tandem. The department will conduct 400 awareness campaigns in different communities, mainly informal settlements and areas identified to be significantly contributing to pedestrian fatalities.
The department will also present structured road safety educational programmes in schools. These will include the Scholar Patrol Project that will be established and trained in various schools across the province, road safety education lectures in schools for high school learners, road traffic education to youngsters in crèches through our Junior Traffic Training Centres and presentations to the elementary, intermediate and adults on the Multimedia project. The department will also conduct debates in schools on topical road safety issues and host the Participatory Educational Techniques project in different schools.
Through the department’s Traffic Training College, the Basic Traffic Officer’s, Examiner of Vehicles and Examiner of Driver’s Licenses Courses will be delivered. Added to this, the College will continue to offer traffic refresher training to keep officers abreast of legislative amendments and policy changes.
Also in the current year, the department will continue with the project to transform Boekenhoutkloof Traffic College into a Centre of Excellence. A cabinet memorandum has already been approved in this regard. A phased approach will be implemented to deal with some of the challenges which have been identified at the College. Specifically the College will embark on a process of effecting repairs to broken down infrastructure and equipment, refurbishment of facilities and procurement of appropriate materials. Most of these quick wins have already been implemented.
In addition, the training requirements of facilitators will be reviewed in order to up skill them. A vigorous marketing strategy will also be developed in order to attract more trainees at the College in keeping with other world class institutions of learning. In the end, the college is seen as forming one of our income generating streams as a department.
Special projects
Integration of the CCTV Network in the Province
In this financial year the department has appointed a service provider who will maintain the 195 CCTV cameras that were installed at the various ATM sites in the province in November 2008 as part of preventing ATM bombings. In addition, the department will conduct an audit of all CCTV cameras in the province. The aim is to determine how all these resources can be pulled together to assist the fight against crime in the province.
The maintenance of CCTV cameras will be carried out monthly for an initial two year period, whilst the audit of all cameras in municipalities will be done over a three month period. This will ensure that all the camera systems in the province are linked to the SAPS’s War Room. R6,5 million is budgeted for this project.
Corperate Governance (R61 million)
Financial Management
“Sound financial management requires careful tracking and prudent management of your organisation’s financial resources and cash flows. With good financial management, an organisation can understand its costs drivers and policy implementation processes; without it, an organisation compounds any operational problems and invites additional outside scrutiny.” The Enterprise Foundation
Financial management value-chain and sustainability agenda is a key element of the department’s strategic plan going forward. This strategy lays out detailed plans to ensure that the financial management value-chain and will be achieved within the projected available resources by the end of 2012/13. The service delivery and governance problems are continuously highlighted as a common thread is departments’ inability to improve service delivery and deliver on the imperatives of a ‘developmental agenda of the provincial government’. The filling of the Chief Financial Officer position during the last financial year will go a long way to assist the department reach this goal.
The strategic plan seeks to define key principles and pillars that will hold the Community Safety Department’s programmes and projects. Fundamental to the strategic plan is the recognition that sound financial management is one of the vital pillars to the departments’ ability and attainment of the transformation agenda.
The value proposition for effective implementation of the principles of sound financial management and financial sustainability is critical to the overall performance of the department. The department has embarked on a number of activities and deliverables which seek to address some of the challenges in the short-term and provide a vehicle for medium-to-long term interventions, namely:
Implementation of policies and procedures
The department has set a clear plan in terms of compliance with the Public Finance Management Act, (PMFA) in rigorously adhering to strict implementation program of internal procedures to achieve the objectives of the department. Management has adopted an aggressive approach towards internal control processes.
Risk Management
At a management level risk mitigation strategies have been developed for effective monitoring and management of the overall risks of the department. Monthly and quarterly risks reports are compiled and submitted accordingly. Such reports are informed by progress made in resolving both findings by our internal auditors (GAS) and external auditors (A.G.).
Unqualified Audit Report – through the numerous interventions over the last few years, the department is proud to have had consistent unqualified audit reports. We are still faced with the challenge of achieving a Clean Audit as defined by the Auditor General. Finally, the strategy is informed by the successive audit opinions which show that despite significant improvements in the financial management and implementation of financial controls, there are still improvements to be made.
Budget Compilation and Monitoring process
The department follows a rigorous strategic planning and budget process that is driven by priority policy imperatives. In addition, monitoring is carried out weekly to detect deviations and institute corrective action.
Effective implementation and management of Supply Chain Processes
All necessary governance structures for effective implementation of supply chain processes are working effectively and efficiently, e.g. Bid Evaluation Committees. Monthly reports are compiled and submitted for any monthly accruals in relation to payment of service providers.
Corporate Services
As part of the Human Resource and Human Resource Development strategies the Department will focus on Leadership Development in partnership with the Gauteng City Region Academy. Capacity building on Supply Chain Management and Financial Management will enable managers to better manage and control the resources allocated. Traffic officers will be equipped with basic computer skills in preparation for the roll out of the electronic leave and overtime systems.
The Department will be re-aligning its current structure with the additional allocated funding of R3 million to cater for the envisaged functions as outlined in the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Act, 2011. Priority will be also given to the filling of critical Senior Management posts to enable better service delivery.
The Information and Communication Technology governance framework will be further strengthened to address audit findings and better support the operations of the department.
Conclusion
Madam Speaker and Honourable Members,
On occasions where we seem faced with insurmountable problems, is a time our resolve is strengthened even more. For we have overcome the worst visited to us as a people in the past. In times when our communities seem tested and pushed, we know their resolve hardens even more as they know they are masters of their own futures. Working with all Gauteng citizens, ours can only be one goal, to triumph over the evil of crime and road fatalities in our province and country, and thus carve a future generations coming after us will be proud of.
I would like to thank my colleagues in the Executive Council under the leadership of the Honourable Premier Nomvula Mokonyane for the constant motivation and guidance they provide. To the Members of the Portfolio Committee of Community Safety for the positive feedback they always provide on our work. To Members of Mayoral Committees for Community Safety for the support their municipalities provide to our department.
I also wish to thank the department under the leadership of the Head of Department, Adv Mongezi Tshongweni, and his team. To the Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service, Lieutenant General Mzwandile Petros and his team and the Heads of all Law Enforcement Agencies in the province.
Lastly, our thanks to all the volunteers in Community Policing Forums, the Take Charge Sectors, Victim Empower Centres and our dear Community Patrollers. We know that our work would be as noticeable without your dedicated and unwavering support.
E Gauteng asibhenywa, Asibhayi i skelem, siyabopha.
Thank you.
