Deputy National Commissioner Mgwenya
Provincial Commissioners and Deputy Provincial Commissioners
The National Secretaries of SAPU and POPCRU
The hosting Provincial Commissioners, Lieutenant General Lamoer
National CPF chairperson, Mr Brown
Provincial CPF chairpersons
Polmusca President
Choristers, conductors and musicians
Adjudicators
Ladies and Gentlemen
What a wonderful experience this has been – from the military precision of the opening ceremony to the warmth and elation of the competition itself, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself over the past few days. Thank you.
Music is and always has been a source of inspiration to the human soul. We listen to music when we are filled with joy as it invigorates us and we comfort ourselves with music when we are down. It is with a joyous spirit that we are gathered here to sing, dance and listen to music, to rejoice in the spirit of togetherness, the spirit of Batho Pele and the spirit of Police Music and Cultural Association (Polmusca).
It is this “togetherness”, the unity of music, which is so important. Music can bring the people of a nation together and give them a sense of belonging and pride in a way that few other things can. I believe that when the late Enoch Sontonga composed Nkosi Sikelel’ i-Afrika in 1897 at the age of 24, it never dawned on him that the lyrics he composed in a moment of sadness would one day command honour and respect as the national anthem of a free and democratic South Africa. And so today and every day, we celebrate Enoch Sontonga’s gift to us, a heroic message of calm, of hope, which symbolises the oneness of South Africa’s people.
At the opening ceremony on Thursday night, the honourable Minister of Police, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, challenged all Polmusca participants to compose their own lyrics and music for next year’s festival. He correctly stated that with the talent evident in the police, we should be writing and singing anti-crime songs and composing music which celebrates the strength and unity we enjoy as law enforcement officers.
This must become a primary objective of future Polmusca Festivals. We have among us the will, the capacity and the skills to make beautiful music with strong messages that we can share with our clients, the community. Let us take up the Minister’s challenge and have a special category in 2013, the year of the police’s centenary, for music composed within our ranks.
As I have just mentioned, in 2013 policing will have existed in this country for 100 years. This is indeed a great achievement, one which we must celebrate and honour. There will be times in this 100 year history which will fill our hearts with pride. There are also dark times in our history which are viewed with shame and anger.
But through it all there existed a police entity and serving in that entity were men and – after a long time – women who joined the police to actually serve the people. So now clearly an additional challenge is to ensure that the Polmusca Unity Festival of 2013 is one in which the police’s centenary is vividly displayed and celebrated.
When I addressed you yesterday, I touched on the need to be physically and emotionally healthy. This is very important in the stressful and challenging environment in which we, as police officials, perform our duties. I was very impressed to find a range of health and wellness services on offer to our employees at the front of this venue.
Our Employee Health and Wellness members are well represented and partnered with Polmed and Old Mutual, our kind sponsors. Congratulations on including this very important aspect in the Polmusca Festival, it shows foresight and consideration on the part of the organisers and I would like to see more such endeavours at other police gatherings in the future.
The support and presence of the labour unions POPCRU and SAPU is also an indication that organised labour has the interests of their members at heart. Both unions are clearly willing and in fact eager to support initiatives which provide a mechanism for our employees to pour out their creativity and thereby release the stresses and pressures of police life. Our sincere thanks for their support.
The first Polmusca Unity Festival was held in 1993, 20 years ago, and rotated from province to province. Mpumalanga successfully hosted the 19th Festival prior to this one in the Western Cape and soon the 2013 host of the 21st Festival will be announced.
In 1999 the vision of bringing the SAPS and the community together in the fight against crime was realised through the launch of “Project Harmony”. Since that launch, the partnership between the police and the community has grown from strength to strength.
Project Harmony was also used as a tool to involve Polmusca in the core business of the SAPS, which is crime prevention. It is through the application of this artistic approach that we have managed to respond positively to the community mobilisation objectives of the government.
As we gather here, some of our bands are still out there conducting crime prevention awareness campaigns and interacting with communities in shopping malls and other areas in and around Cape Town.
The importance of police-community interactions cannot be over-emphasised. The police cannot fight crime alone; we need all communities, business, NGO’s and other groups, to join us in this battle. They must be the wind beneath our wings as we go about our daily duties of protecting the vulnerable and bringing criminals to justice. By working together, we can and will triumph so that the people of South Africa are – and feel – safe.
Programme director; allow me to pass my heartfelt gratitude to our men and women in blue for their selfless and loyal service to our people and the country in difficult circumstances.
Let us ensure that the memories and legacy of the founders of Polmusca, and its successive leadership, continue to be an inspiration to many generations to come.
To our participants, you all have emerged as winners. Your preparation and hard work has paid off. Your ability to portray the composer’s inner thoughts and give meaning to words is inspirational. So, whether you win or lose, in my opinion is irrelevant at this stage - you are and will remain the best.
As we prepare to enter the very busy and ever challenging festive season, I ask you to dig deep, serve your country and its citizens proudly, with respect and integrity and give of your very best. Remember if you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, limp. And if you can’t limp, crawl. Brighten your corner – we can ask no more, or indeed, no less.
Thank you.
Address by the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Riah Phiyega, at the 20th National Polmusca Unity Festival in Goodwood, Cape Town
