Speaker notes by General Riah Phiyega, during the launch of the Limpopo Community Outreach Programme, Lephalale, Limpopo
Deputy Minister MM Sotyu
Limpopo Premier, MEC for Safety, Security and Liaison, Ms Joyce Mashamba, MECs for Police and Transport, Education, and Sports and Culture
All Deputy National Commissioners
All Provincial and Divisional Commissioners
All members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) present
Leaders from different interfaith denominations present
Leaders from business and civic organisations present
Representatives from labour unions, POPCRU and SAPU
Representatives from various community policing forums
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
I greet you all.
The South African Police Service is keenly aware of the importance of working with different role players in the Government, but more significantly, also with you as citizens. The changing phenomenon of policing globally necessitates that we adapt to new, effective ways of curbing and eradicating crime in our society. Our National Police Day held earlier this year in the Free State, alludes to this as it was also directed towards reaching out to and improving the SAPS’s relationships with our communities. We know if we work together, we can intensify the fight against crime.
We have hosted a similar event in KwaZulu-Natal recently, today we are here and we will continue to engage with other communities around the country. We want to make it a point that we address the issues of safety and security not as police management, but as a society and with all the relevant stakeholders, including you, on board.
As we celebrate 20 years of democracy, we decided that the time was opportune for some changes. We developed a National Community Outreach Framework to standardise and guide all community outreach programmes by the SAPS, and to focus on the implementation of a more community-centred approach to policing. This is the reason we are here today. It is our aim to continue working with you and engaging on issues related to crime, and to mobilise the general community to participate in crime prevention initiatives. We acknowledge that in some instances our communities tend to see us as enemies rather than the law enforcers or their protectors.
It must be acknowledged that SAPS is an organisation which is currently changing for the better as we introduce new and effective ways of policing which are aligned to our democratic dispensation. My commitment to you is that we are determined to honour our mandate of serving and protecting.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us remember, even in the midst of distress and frustrations, when we are fed up with poor service delivery or the lack thereof, that a police official is not your enemy. By the direction of the Constitution, in any of our interventions our aim is to instill stability and peace as well as uphold the law and order.
Ladies and gentlemen: Our main aim is to ensure that we implement feasible, attainable strategies that will see the SAPS:
- enhancing police-community relationships
- improving community confidence among members of the community
- rebranding the SAPS as a friendly and community-oriented organisation
- improving its corporate image among all sectors of the community
- mobilising the general community to participate in crime prevention initiatives and programmes
- educating the public about crime and criminality.
The police cannot do it alone. We therefore urge you to come forward with any information that may lead police officials to put those who break the law, behind bars. If we achieve this as a collective, these rapists, robbers and murderers who torment our communities, will be nabbed very swiftly and put where they belong.
In closure, it is indeed an honour to me to introduce the woman behind the ongoing process of improving the effective functioning and legitimacy of the SAPS across the country, the Deputy Minister of Police. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce and present to you our keynote speaker, the Deputy Minister of Police, Mrs M Sotyu.
Thank you.
