Input of the Deputy Minister of Police, Mr Cassel Mathale at the occasion of NCOP budget vote debate 2025/2026
Honourable chairperson;
Acting minister of police; honourable Gwede Mantashe
Deputy minister of police, honourable doctor Polly Boshielo
Honourable ministers in attendance;
Honourable deputy ministers;
Chairperson and members of the select committee
Honourable MECs present;
Members of parliament;
Heads of entities;
Ministry staff;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
I greet you all.
It is with a sense of great honour and humility for me to once again be afforded an opportunity to deliver my inputs to this budget vote under the auspices of the South African Police Services, amidst a multitude of challenges facing us at this juncture. Some of these challenges are of serious concern and are a threat to our safety and security, while some are of a socio-economic nature but the inability to adequately address them ultimately makes them a safety and security problem in one way or the other. However, none of these challenges are insurmountable in my view, if anything, these challenges highlight the need to ensure that our approach to enhancing policing and promoting safety and security is multi-pronged and multi-faceted.
It is with this in mind that the Civilian Secretariat for Police developed the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy (ICVPS), which was approved by cabinet and remains one of the apex strategic interventions to reduce violence and crime in a holistic approach within the community and in all spheres of government.
The ICVP strategy is premised on the recognition that crime prevention does not start with the police but police get involved at the tail end as law enforcers, and by then it is almost too late.
Honourable members; I have always held a view that no one is born a criminal but it is the accumulation of risk factors (environmental, social, economic, etc) on a person’s life that turn some into criminals. Hence we advocate for the involvement of all.
However, we are aware that government remains the primary driver of the strategy and the CSPS has been engaging various government departments to integrate the ICVPS into their strategies and to develop clear and practical implementation plans.
For example, the department of education has the responsibility of creating a safe and secure learning environment by addressing bullying, amongst others, and promoting positive values and behavior among learners. The department of sports, arts, culture and recreation, on the other hand, has the responsibility to promote participation in sports and recreation, which can divert youth from crime and build community resilience.
I must indicate that the strategy has been well received by most departments in all spheres of government, most of which, including municipalities, have developed implementation plans aligned to key focus areas of the ICVPS. The CSPS will continue to facilitate the implementation of the ICVPS at all spheres of government, offering technical guidance and support. Importantly, there is a large focus on municipalities understanding their role in community safety, and implementing programmes on safety.
To ensure seamless and coordinated reporting on this strategy, a national working committee has been established comprising of the JCPS departments and other key stakeholders. The work of this committee will be reported to FOSAD, cabinet and other key structures outlining key achievements and challenges in the fight against crime and violence in the country.
Although the CSPS is a national entity, the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service Act (CSPS Act) provides for the establishment of provincial secretariats to support and align their mandate with the mandate of the CSPS. The provincial secretariats are, therefore, established by the MECs for safety in the various provinces and fall within the provincial departments of community safety to which they are accountable, but are obligated to align their plans and operations with plans, policies and operations of the CSPS.
Although funded through the respective provincial treasuries, their work is closely aligned to the CSPS, thereby extending the reach of the CSPS.
To this end, the ICVPS will be used among other strategic interventions for provincial secretariat to align their plans for the purpose of ensuring consistent and coordinated monitoring and reporting at national level. In this year, KwaZulu-Natal province has been identified as a nodal province to popularize and launch the ICVPS in the sector.
The department will continue to work with the departments of provincial community safety and security to implement initiatives such as community policing forum, community safety forum, and sign cooperation agreements to ensure the improved safety and security of our ordinary citizens.
Almost all provinces have spent over 90% of their 2024/25 budget allocation under the provincial secretariat programme. Despite this high expenditure rate, inadequate funding remains a key constraint, significantly affecting the provincial secretariats’ capacity to deliver fully and effectively on its mandate.
Notably, most provinces received an increased budget allocation for the current financial year, with Mpumalanga recording a slightly higher increase compared to others. Gauteng province continues to receive the largest budget allocation, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
In contrast, the Free State province was allocated the smallest budget for the provincial secretariat programme.
While most continue to work tirelessly to execute their functions, some provincial secretariats are not fully capacitated e.g. Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Free State. Efforts are being made to ensure their full capacitation and improved functionality.
In terms of the priority joint research project that the CSPS will be embarking on with provinces in 2025/26, the research will focus on an analysis of the interventions undertaken by municipalities to implement the ICVPS.
As part of its research and policy functions, the CSPS has developed the National Policing Policy (NPP), which was approved by cabinet on 14 May 2025, to address challenges such as inadequate police stations and capacity issues - as well as to ensure that infrastructure is based on proper norms and standards. NPP also makes provisions for creating professional and quality policing; providing efficient and effective policing service delivery; improving legitimacy and trust between communities and the police; building a strong and ethical leadership, management and governance architecture within the SAPS.
Honourable members, this is a significant policy shift in the South African policing landscape and the provincial secretariats will be working with the CSPS to monitor the implementation hereof.
CSPS will also focus on the finalisation of the policy on familial DNA searches (FDS), which gives effect to section 15M of the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act 37 of 2013. The FDS is a forensic technique employed by law enforcement agencies to identify genetic relatedness among DNA profiles in forensic databases.
In addition, the CSPS in partnership with the provincial secretariats will enhance the monitoring of the forensic science laboratories with a view of ensuring that processing of exhibits is done timeously and challenges are identified on time and resolved efficiently, thereby ensuring that effective laboratory services contribute to the quick resolutions of court cases, thus ensuring that victims of crime receive justice.
The CSPS will also review organizational design process and service delivery model in consultation with provincial secretariats, department of public service and administration and national treasury.
As a legislative and policy wing of the ministry of police, the CSPS will introduce two bills in parliament in 2025/26 financial year. These are:
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South African Police Amendment Bill
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Firearms Control Amendment Bill
Chairperson and honourable members
In the spirit of the whole of society and whole of government approach as championed by the ICVPS, the ministry of police has entered into partnerships with critical stakeholders to enhance police performance through cooperation agreements with provinces and municipalities – aimed at sharing a vision for safety and security within cities and communities. Various initiatives, programmes, and strategies through these agreements will be implemented in the medium term. To date, four provinces and their respective metros have signed the aforesaid cooperation agreements namely; Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape.
The implementation of these agreements is coordinated through the provincial technical committees as well as district technical sub-committees. Key areas of focus include among others intelligence led-operations, e-policing, gender-based violence and femicide, case flow management, and monitoring and evaluation.
We continue to work with and strengthen community safety forums (CSFs) and community policing forums (CPFs). To this effect, we will be undertaking assessments to determine the effectiveness of the established CSFs and CPFs, as well as provide relevant training workshops which will be conducted in selected high crime rate areas to equip CPF members to support policing and crime prevention efforts.
Fellow honourable members; in our concerted effort to contribute to the effective implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBVF, the CSPS will continue to conduct the following initiatives:
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monitoring of SAPS compliance to and implementation of the Domestic Violence Act
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oversight visits over the top 30 police stations with high levels of GBV related crimes
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court watching briefs to identify systemic issues that lead to the withdrawal of GBVF related cases – with particular focus on police responsibilities
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awareness campaigns involving the community and faith based organisations, institutions of higher learning and other government departments
In order to deliver effectively on the mandate of the CSPS, the department is allocated a total budget of R172,245 million for the 2025/26 financial year. This is an increase of R16,281 million from the adjusted budget of R155,964 million for 2024/25 financial year and includes an inflation adjustment and R9,187 additional funding for compensation of employees. This increase is for the filling of the two posts of deputy directors-general and their support staff as well as the cost of living adjustment for 2025/26. The micro organizational structure is being reviewed in order to increase capacity in line with the departmental strategy and mandates. Funding will be needed in the next MTEF process to fund the organizational structure and the necessary mandates of the department.
We believe you will support this budget as we together forge forward in our fight against crime and criminality.
As the ministry of police, we remain committed to ensuring that all our entities and all stakeholders work together in building a South Africa where all people
live in safe environments;
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play a role in creating and maintaining a safe environment
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feel and are safe from crime, violence and conditions that contribute to it
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have equal access and recourse to high quality services when affected by crime and violence
Thank you.
#ServiceDeliveryZA
