Speaker notes by the Minister of Police, Mr Cele: JCPS Cluster Ministers outlining the state of readiness for the sixth general elections
Minister of State Security Agency; Hon Dipuo Letsatsi- Duba,
Minister of Home Affairs; Hon Siyabonga Cwele,
National Commissioner of Police; General Khehla Sitole,
All Senior Officials of the JCPS Cluster present;
Members of the media;
Ladies and Gentleman;
Members of the media I address this media briefing this afternoon on behalf of the Ministers of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS), with the fundamental objective of outlining the state of readiness for the 6th General Elections; from the point of view of a coordinated safety and security approach.
The President of the Republic of South Africa, his excellency, Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, has pronounced that the sixth general elections will be held on Wednesday, 08th of May 2019. Since 1994 General Elections, the security cluster in our country has maintained a highly commendable record of delivering and executing a safe and secure General Elections which were officially declared free and fair.
Thus, the safety and security pillar, remains the backbone of the overall success or failure of any democratic elections of any country in the world; and therefore the high level coordination of all key security aligned departments is of paramount importance for the execution of this fundamental and enormous task.
In responding directly to our service delivery outcome of ensuring that the people of South Africa are and feel safe. We have ensured that there is continuous coordination and cooperation within all spheres of government across the country and that all relevant and necessary key role players are hard at work, to ensure the successful delivery of the 2019 sixth general election.
Equally, the elections security plan is being managed through the JOINTS structures at National, Provincial, District/Cluster and Local levels, to contribute towards creating conditions for a free and fair election environment. We will continue to deal decisively with the so called ‘ NO GO AREAS’, all voting stations in the country will be accessible to all and no protests nor shutdowns will abuse the constitutional rights of South Africans to exercise their democratic rights to vote for the party of their choice.
Section 205(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa directs that the South African Police Service prevent, combat and investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic of South Africa and their property, and to uphold and enforce the law.
Moreover, a total number of 22 924 voting stations will be operational ready and secured country wide. As the JCPS cluster we can assure all South Africans that we have put plans in place to ensure that these elections take place in a free, fair, safe and secure environment. The South African Police Service will, during the build-up to the election, on the day of the election and the period after the election, increase police visibility through focused deployments of personnel throughout the country.
Through our intelligence structures, we have identified a number of hotspots and potentially volatile areas that will be monitored on a continuous basis. These areas will be targeted through intensified operations, informed by thorough analysis and intelligence-based deployments.
KwaZulu Natal leads in the top three of the most number of voting stations registering a total of 4885 voting stations followed by the Eastern Cape province with 4791 station and Limpopo province with 3157 voting stations.
The National Joints Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has established the Priority Committees at National and Provincial level. NATJOINTS reports to the Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) Directors General (DGs) which in turn reports to the JCPS Minister’s Committee.
Ladies and Gentleman as we are aware that application for special voters registration is currently underway. We encourage all those who fall within the category to register.
The 2019 general elections will be conducted in a safe and secure environment. As the JCPS cluster we have a responsibility to contribute towards the conducting of free, fair, safe and secure elections. By ensuring the establishment of uncompromising security measure, limiting the probability of incidents occurring and limiting the impact of any incidents through contingency planning.
All law enforcement agencies in the country, supported by key role players from the respective safety and security structures, remain committed to deliver safe and secure elections. In the upcoming elections the most important key role players are ordinary South Africans, not only in exercising their democratic right to vote, but also in conducting themselves in an orderly and responsible manner. As a security cluster we therefore urge every citizen of this country to act responsibly, observe the laws of our country and to cooperate fully with all laws enforcement agencies.
With only 26 days to go, to the sixth general election as the JCPS cluster, we are more than committed to ensuring the safety of all voters and voting stations. We declare that as a cluster we are operationally ready to execute our mandate and ensure a safe and secure environment for free and fair elections to prevail.
Members of the media, in conclusion, we would like to talk briefly to the Easter Safety campaign, and also emphasize the imperative role of the cluster approach in ensuring proper coordination of all safety and security related activities during the Easter period. All the Joints at all levels will be activated accordingly to ensure that we maintain law and order at all times. We trust that the Easter weekend security plan will be carried out successfully and we would also like to call upon all the citizens of this country to conduct themselves in a responsible manner that will not be in conflict with the law.
I thank you
