Budget speech by the Minister of Police, Mr Firoz Cachalia, in the National Council of Provinces, 9 June 2026, Cape Town
Honourable Chairperson,
Honourable Members of the National Council of Provinces,
Deputy Ministers of Police, Mr Cassel Mathale and Dr Polly Boshielo,
MECs responsible for Community Safety,
Acting National Commissioner and senior leadership of the SAPS,
Director-General: Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service, Mr Sibuyi,
Acting Executive Director: IPID, Dr Bila,
Distinguished Guests,
I appreciate the opportunity to present the 2026-27 Police Budget Vote and to account to the National Council of Provinces for the work we are doing together to build safer communities across our country.
There is a lot going on our country, as is often the case and I would like to address a few important matters before I proceed to the budget.
Firstly, I want to reiterate that which the President said about the rising anger against illegal immigration. The government agrees that illegal immigration is unacceptable and that strong measures are required to strengthen border control and to enforce our immigration laws. Our country’s sovereignty, and the rule of laws are not negotiable.
But I must make myself absolutely clear, we condemn any violent protest action, targeting people from other countries. We are part of a continental and global trading economic system, and when images of people being harassed and threatened in our streets go around our region, our continent and the world, it harms our reputation and our national interests. It limits foreign investment and undermines our chances to grow our economy and create jobs.
It also could harm the cooperation we need with our regional neighbours to address organised criminal networks that bring drugs into our country and that traffic people across our borders.
Only the police and the Border Management Agency are allowed to arrest people for immigration offences. You cannot build a country that effectively implements the rule of law, by breaking those laws. As much as the police are directed to enforce the law against those who are in South Africa illegally, they are directed to do the same against anyone who acts violently or attacks people during protest action.
Our police are already over-stretched with the task of tackling crime and adding to their workload makes us all worse off. The police already work under difficult and often dangerous conditions.
Honourable members,
Most of you are aware that numerous top SAPS Generals and Brigadiers have been suspended or dismissed. Holding people to account is part of the bold Police Reset Agenda that I recently explained before the National Assembly. The most recent suspensions announced by the Acting National Commissioner today are pursuant in terms of an internal SAPS investigation. The Acting National Commissioner and I are fully aligned in pursuing consequence management.
We must bear in mind that most police members are keeping focused on the job at hand, whether it is confronting dangerous criminals who threaten our communities, or by providing any kind of assistance to people wherever they are in need. Your contribution is highly appreciated, and I stand with you.
I also want to take a moment to recognise and show appreciation to those police members who have been killed or injured, particularly while doing their jobs to serve the community.
For example, on 30 April this year, Captain Louis Nel and Sergeant Mandla Khuzwhayo attached to Crime Intelligence in KwaZulu Natal were attacked by armed men, while on duty in Verulam. Captain Nel died immediately, and Sergeant Khuzwayo succumbed to his injuries 25 days later.
Many of you will be aware that at 2am on Monday morning, a SAPS constable was attacked with an axe and seriously injured while standing outside the Delft Police Station. These attacks are unacceptable as these are people whose job it is to keep us safe.
Now onto a topic that is more uplifting. I also want to extend my best wishes to our national football team as they wait to participate in the world’s greatest football tournament. We are one of 48 countries taking part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup starting on Thursday. I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that hope that your opening match against Mexico goes well and that you make us proud.
Honourable members,
The Police Budget is not only about rands and cents. It is about whether a child in Lusikisiki can walk to school safely, whether a woman in Thohoyandou can return home from work without fear, and whether a business in eThekwini or Ekurhuleni can invest and create jobs with the confidence that the state will protect its people.
As my speech to the National Assembly on 19 May focused primarily on our Bold Police Reset Agenda, I will not repeat myself on this topic today. Rather, I will:
- Briefly, reflect on the latest provincial crime statistics
- Emphasise the central role of the MinMEC in aligning national, provincial and local action.
- I want to highlight the importance of the Integrated Crime and Violence Strategy.
- Brief this House on the development of our Organised Crime Strategy and current efforts to tackle organised crime, and finally
- Highlight the importance of community efforts in addressing crime.
- The provincial crime situation
Honourable Members,
The 2025/26 quarter 4 statistics which I released on last month on 22 May, confirm three things.
First, the downward trend in most major contact and property crimes has largely been sustained for two years. In many provinces, murder and attempted murder have decreased, and we continue to see reductions in burglaries and all categories of aggravated robbery.
Second, the picture remains uneven. Some districts and stations – especially dense urban nodes and some rural corridors – are still experiencing unacceptably high levels of violent crime.
Third, we must understand that crime statistics are not a scientific measure of the crime burden we all face. I am aware that the decreases in most categories of crime have triggered a lot of debate. I am also aware that seldomly is there a single reason for changes in national crime trends. Most crime takes place at a local level and the factors driving crime up or down can differ from place to place. However, there seems to be consensus that we are indeed seeing a national decrease in violent crime, which started two years ago.
I am of the view that better targeted policing operations along with many ongoing community and other efforts to improve safety are having a positive impact. I therefore welcome the debate we are having as to why the crime is going down for the first time in decades and look forward to the results of studies that provide us with more detailed insights as to why this is could be the case in different places.
Murder Trends
Nationally, the total number of violent crimes reported to the police decreased by 4.6% and the number of murders fell by 9.5% with a significant 20% decrease over the past two years. This was driven by declines in eight provinces, but particularly Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape that collectively recorded 81% of all murders.
The North-West Province was a major outlier, with murder cases increasing by 18,9% or 43 additional cases, from 228 to 271. As soon as I am able, I will be visiting the North West Province.
The critical point is this: the crime situation is improving in some important respects, but the levels of crime and violence are still far too high. From a policing point of view we will keep focused to further build on these gains.
However, it will take more than policing alone to ensure that we achieve the levels of safety that will enable our country to grow sustainably for all its people. I’ll now touch on some of what we need to do to achieve the vision that our people are and feel safe.
2. MinMEC: aligning national, provincial local leadership
Chairperson,
The National Council of Provinces appreciates that achieving community safety is not only a national function. It must be an objective that is co‑governed across all three tiers: national, provincial and local government.
Our Police MinMEC brings together myself as the Police Minister, the Deputy Police Ministers, Premiers, the MECs responsible for Community Safety and the SAPS leadership is the central platform for this alignment.
We held an important meeting in February this year at which we adopted clear terms of reference for future MinMecs and agreed to hold at least 3 meetings a year to track our progress. We also agreed that there must be greater alignment with local governments and are looking at how to best achieve this.
Our goal is that no province should be working in isolation, and no national initiative should arrive in a province as a surprise. We therefore discussed our objective to make a measurable difference in the 50 high crime precincts across the country. From the side of the Ministry and the SAPS, we will be closely monitoring the resourcing and performance of the police stations that service these precincts. But, we also need to address the factors that contribute to crime in these precincts. 6
3. Provinces and the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy
Honourable Members,
If we only react to crime after it happens, we will never win. That is why South Africa has adopted the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy – a whole‑of‑government and whole of society framework that addresses the social, economic and environmental drivers of crime.
The ICVPS recognises that:
- Violence is fuelled by poverty, inequality, alcohol and substance abuse, unsafe environments, weak early childhood development, broken schooling and a culture of patriarchy and impunity.
- Prevention, therefore requires the combined efforts of police, social development, education, health, human settlements, transport, local government, and communities.
At national level, we are coordinating policy, norms and funding frameworks. But the real implementation power lies in the provinces and municipalities. This requires the provinces to do the following 4 things:
- Develop and implement Provincial Crime and Violence Prevention Plans, aligned to the ICVPS and integrated into Provincial Growth and Development Strategies.
- Target hotspots using data from SAPS, health, education and social development – not only where crimes are reported, but where risk factors are concentrated.
- Integrate prevention into core provincial functions, including:
- Safer schools and safe routes to school.
- Alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment programmes.
- Youth employment and skills programmes in high‑risk communities, and
- Safer design and maintenance of human settlements and public spaces.
4. Support municipalities to conduct local safety audits, develop Community Safety Plans, and enforce bylaws related to liquor, public nuisance, building standards and environmental design.
The NCOP is uniquely placed to oversee this work. When you visit provinces and municipalities, I urge you to ask not only ask about police numbers, but also about:
- The existence and quality of provincial and municipal safety plans.
- The use of evidence and data in targeting interventions.
- The degree of real cooperation between SAPS, provincial departments and municipalities.
- Implementing the Organised Crime Strategy
Chairperson,
Our democracy faces a serious threat from organised crime. Gangs, extortion mafias, drug syndicates, illegal mining networks, trafficking rings and corruption cartels are undermining the state, the economy and the rule of law.
In response, the President highlighted the importance of tackling organised crime given that it has become an existential threat to our country. Already, the SAPS have developed Operation Ukubusa to focus on gang violence, illegal mining and other forms of organised crime with support from the SANDF and other agencies.
Furthermore, we will present a comprehensive National Organised Crime Strategy to the Cabinet this year. This will enable better coordination and information sharing across government departments, the private sector and civil society to address this threat.
In the meantime, through Operation Ukubusa, multi-disciplinary teams are targeting specific organised criminal networks across the country. We will be closely monitoring developments to assess impact and to continuously reflect on lessons learned so as to improve our interventions. 8
For provinces, this means:
- Ensuring that provincial safety plans identify and address organised‑crime drivers, from extortion gangs, illegal mining belts to border‑linked trafficking corridors.
- Supporting victim‑witness protection, and ensuring safe reporting mechanisms, and;
- Driving effective anti‑corruption initiatives in provincial departments.
5. Strengthening Community Policing
Honourable Members,
We cannot make adequate headway against crime without active support and assistance from communities. It is on the ground that people know what and where the main safety risks are and who is most responsible for committing crime in their communities. I want to therefore commend the many community-based safety initiatives taking place across the country. However, these initiatives against crime and lawlessness, including immigration related offences, but must respect the distinction between the role of the police and the role of the community.
A good example here in Cape Town is the work undertaken by the Cape Crime Crises Coalition, known also as the C4 is undertaking to address gang violence. This network of community activists and academics are working with the police in the gang affected areas to co-create local safety initiatives.
One of the most visible ways in which citizens experience safety is the presence of eyes and ears on the ground. For this reason, we are working to develop a national and provincial patroller programme.
To achieve this, the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service are working on national norms and training curricula for patrollers.
Provinces are asked to consider options for providing stipends, equipment and training for patrollers in high‑risk districts, hopefully with national co‑financing and technical support.
They will help to:
- Improve safety around schools, transport interchanges and business districts.
- Support visible policing in high crime places, and
- Strengthen early warning by reporting suspicious activity and emerging risks.
We will use MinMEC and NCOP reporting to ensure that this programme is not a temporary project, but a sustainable pillar of community‑centred policing.
6. Conclusion: a shared responsibility
Chairperson, Honourable Members,
The SAPS 2026-27 Budget aims to invest in further improving community safety across the country.
But budgets and strategies alone will not make South Africans feel safe. What will make the difference is whether:
- We effectively use platforms like MinMEC and this Council to drive joint action.
- Provinces take ownership of crime prevention through the ICVPS.
- We match enforcement with prevention, and statistics with lived experience.
The quarter 4 statistics for 2025/26 show that we can bend the curve of crime. The task before us now is to lock in those gains, confront the stubborn challenges, and ensure that every province, every district and every community feels the impact.
I look forward to working with this House, with our MECs, and with all our partners to ensure that this Budget becomes concrete change in our streets, our homes and our public spaces.
I thank you.
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