Speaker notes by National Police Commissioner: Overview and purpose of the Frontline Service Delivery in KwaZulu-Natal
Honourable Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko
Honourable Deputy Minister of Police Ms M Sotyu
MEC for Community Safety & Liaison, Honourable TW Mchunu Traditional leaders present
Our Deputy National Commissioner Lt Gen Mbekela
Our host Provincial Commissioner of KZN Lt Gen Ngobeni
All Provincial Commissioners present
All Divisional Commissioners present
Cluster and Station Commanders
Community leaders Programme Director
Members of the community
All protocol observed.
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Ngiyathemba niyaphila mphakathi wase Mtshezi. Sinivakashele namhlanje eMtshsezi obomuvu, eMtshezi ongashi.
We are delighted to be here today. You could have been anywhere but chose to be part of this important on-going Frontline Service Delivery programme we are championing here in Amangwe.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) as a public institution is obliged to render an effective and efficient service to the public; the obligations are reinforced by the Batho Pele principles which emphasise access to public institutions and improved service.
The Frontline Service Delivery Programme is based on the need to improve the infrastructure of our police stations and the quality of services delivered to you.
With this programme we aim to ensure that SAPS service points are accessible and standardised to adequately support professional policing.
We have started with nine FSD stations, one in each province. The roll-out process will include a further 500 police stations. The purpose of the FSD Project is to work towards an effective, efficient, professional and accountable service, capable of ensuring that all the people in South Africa are and feel safe.
So far, we have been to the North West and Mpumalanga Provinces. We are in KwaZulu-Natal today. We have refurbished the station and installed new facilities... office accommodation, holding cells, ablution facilities, victim friendly facility and community service centre.
Our station commander here, Captain Busisiwe Ndaba, for the first time, now has her own office. When we came here in May last year, we found officers in the Community Service Centre sharing a chair. We have bought brand new office furniture, boardroom furniture for meetings. We have done some landscaping, paving, carports, plumbing and electricity upgrades including a generator to ensure continuous service delivery in the event of power failure.
Furthermore, there was no perimeter fence. Now we have it, including security lights. We have also put a cattle grid to stop the animals from entering the police station and damaging property. We have so far spent about R7 million for the renovated and new facilities as part of the first phase. We are going to continue with upgrades to ensure full functionality of the station.
The station now has access to SAPS technological systems for effective crime prevention. We will also improve it further with other facilities such as CCTV cameras. A huge thank you to everyone involved in ensuring that the upgrade project was a success.
I have seen how excited our officers are about these improvements. It will certainly boost morale. However, with this improved facilities, the community also has expectations. We have to improve the level of serve to the people of Amangwe.
In relation to the area of policing and with the police stations at the center, the SAPS will interrogate issues of location and accessibility, visibility and signs, queue management and waiting times, dignified treatment and safety, cleanliness and comfort at the stations and introduce a complaints management system.
The National Development Plan (NDP) requires us to change the image of the SAPS and the experiences of our clients when they visit our police stations. Our objective is to put you, as the customer first. A true Community Service Centres, placing emphasis on service.
Numerous management courses are being offered to managers of this organisation in order to improve command and control. All these efforts are in line with the NDP, aimed at turning around our government institutions into professional centres of service excellence.
Furthermore, SAPS has recently signed yet another memorandum of understanding with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). This MOU will go a long way in monitoring our activities when conducting our duties. We must make sure that respect for the human rights of our people is at the core of everything we do.
We are fully aware of the Amangwe station environmental challenges which impact on station' response time to emergencies. This is made worse by the terrain of the area which is mountainous and characterised by gravel roads.
The fact that houses have no physical address numbers is another factor that impacts negatively on our crime fighting agenda. That is why we have bought brand new vehicles, 17 of them!
Deputy Minister, having said that, I am glad to learn that after all the challenges that have been at play in this community, the new Community Policing Forum (CPF) has been recently elected and has good working relations with the station. The youth desk is also functioning properly too.
This is very encouraging as it is of paramount importance to work with the people of the community you police. The police over the years have arrested many criminals, thanks to the community members that have come forward with crucial information. You are our eyes and ears; you are our partners in crime fighting.
In closing, MEC, we are extremely concerned about the increase of liquor outlets in this area which is contributing to assaults, house breaking and now murder. There are some 27 liquor outlets, far more than the churches in the area. In fact, just yesterday, a person was stabbed at a tarven just outside the police station. He died minutes later.
The SAPS will continue to work tirelessly to better the services we provide to ensuring that we make lives difficult for criminals so that all law abiding citizens can enjoy a safe and free South Africa.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale
Cell: 082 781 8863
