The Ministry of Police has noted the continuous allegations relating to the Minister’s accommodation and travel programmes, when fulfilling his official duties.
The ministry maintains transparency around its dealings with all stakeholders, however views these latest developments as disturbing. We believe such acts are perpetrated by elements that are intended on shifting the focus away from the fight against crime. The ministry will not be deterred by such elements. The latest enquiry relates to questions surrounding the Minster’s accommodation in KwaZulu-Natal during the festive season last year.
The ministry wishes to put on record that from 19 December to 5 January, the Minister was on official duty in the KwaZulu-Natal province. According to the crime trends over the years, the festive period in South Africa has shown that crime in various provinces has been on the increase, particularly in KwaZulu- Natal. Amongst these were ATM bombings, house and smash-and-grab robberies. It is against this background that the Minister partook in the roadshow around this province, specifically aimed at reducing the levels of crime. We also need to emphasise that during these exercises, there had been significant decline in the levels of crime. These roadshows included other provinces around the country.
In relation to the period around April this year, the Minister was again in KwaZulu-Natal as this was during the National Elections. The province had been identified as one of the potential hot spots. The exercise further helped in foiling plans to destabilise the national election process as well as confisticating dangerous weapons, particularly around the Nongoma area. The police officials were further requested not to take leave during this period in order to win the war against criminals.
All these were official programmes aimed at engaging local stakeholders in the fight against crime, which included consultation with local authorities as part of preparation for the elections. The programme entailed conducting roadshows, meeting with the local stakeholders involved in the crime fighting initiatives. These included communities, local policing structures, leaders of political parties as well as traditional leaders. These roadshows would at times, be conducted with other national and provincial government leaders who form part of Government’s Security cluster.
The Minister remains unwavering in his commitment to fighting crime and will therefore not be derailed by such distractions.
For enquiries contact:
Zweli Mnisi
Cell: 082 045 4024
Issued by: South African Police Service
17 October 2009
