CEO of SABRIC, Ms Kalyani Pillay
All other board members and honoured guests
Good evening.
It is a great pleasure for me to be afforded the opportunity to say a few words of support on this important occasion.
There have been many interactions between our two organisations over the past few months and this is encouraging as we enter our mutual peak business season. The festive season is one during which criminals and syndicates seek to take the earnings of others by means of force and violence.
The systems in place and operated by SABRIC, which records incidents as they happen in banks, ATMs and in the cash-in-transit environment, are invaluable. The sharing of that information enables us to work together towards eventually combating these types of crimes.
As we are collectively at the forefront in the fight against crime, our joint leadership is critical. At this time we usually start reflecting on our successes and the challenges of the year – best practices and lessons learned. We also look ahead to assess the situation and environment in which we operate so that we will be able to formulate combined, implementable and viable strategies.
Ladies and gentlemen, sometimes when we are seated like this and talking about these issues, it may come across as though we are just theorising. But it is not theory. This morning, at around 03h30 in Saulsville, west of Atteridgeville, police patrolling the area heard loud bangs. They reacted and saw a group of people fleeing from an ATM bombing scene. There was a heavy exchange of gunfire. The criminals managed to escape but a vehicle was later found with explosives which they use to blow up ATMs. An automatic rifle was also found at the scene. This is the fourth ATM bombing incident over the past two weeks in the Tshwane area.
Ms Pillay, I'm sure you will agree with me that these criminals are not playing games. It is under such difficult circumstances that the SAPS strives to serve and protect the people in South Africa and at the same time to uphold the rule of law and maintain stability. This we do with other role players - our stakeholders and our partners against crime.
Strategic feasible partnerships will play a pivotal role in assisting the South African Police Service to deliver according to our mandate. All stakeholders have to come on-board. Community Police Forums play a pivotal role in ensuring constant liaison between communities and the police station commander and his or her personnel.
The role of crime-fighting stakeholders, such as SABRIC and Business Against Crime, is equally important as has been evidenced by the many joint successes that we have achieved.
These partnerships will see the safety and security fraternity combat organised crimes in the banking and cash-in-transit industry. Fighting crime will always be a shared responsibility between the police, the community and the business sector. Therefore, these partnerships remain the cornerstone of our policing philosophy.
As leaders, it is our responsibility to shape the future of this country. The National Development Plan has been drafted and presented before us to steer our ship towards achieving this set of goals. We will, therefore, remain committed to championing initiatives that will mobilise all in society to work together towards a better and safer South Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen, from the very outset of my career in the SAPS, I have vowed to make every endeavour, to move mountains, if necessary, to instil a sense of integrity into this organisation. Together with my leadership team, we have every intention to persevere with our mission to establish SAPS's reputation as a professional, capable, efficient and transparent institution. We will be relentless in re-instilling a moral and ethical code among professional police officers whose integrity and values must be beyond reproach.
We all know that, when one cleans his or her house particularly if you do so after a long period of time, dust is inevitable. My leadership team has discovered, while cleaning house, that challenges arise like dust out of the corners and from behind the curtains. But rest assured, we will address them within the ambits of the law as they arise, ensuring that our organisation continues to strive for excellence.
I look forward to further mutually beneficial interactions with SABRIC during the rest of 2013 and beyond.
Thank you.
