Following the termination of Khehla Sitole’s contract by the President, there has been a lot more attention on the strained relationship between Sitole and Cele and the overall failed leadership structure of the South African Police Services (SAPS).
“If the status quo concerning existing and new appointments of top leadership withing the SAPS remains unchanged, we will see more cadre deployment by the ANC. It seems the ANC does not want the SAPS to function properly, because then they will be exposed for the far reaching and massive corruption they have been involved in as the ruling party,” said Ian Cameron, director of community safety at Action Society.
Action Society has been actively advocating for an independent panel of experts to handle the vetting of tops SAPS officials and suggest the following measures to ensure transparency and accountability within the top ranks of SAPS:
- A panel of experts must interview and appoint the next National Commissioner of SAPS, it should be a candidate whose integrity must be beyond disrepute.
- The same panel must do skills audit of senior management, starting with Deputy National Commissioners, Provincial Commissioners, all their deputies and Divisional Commissioners within SAPS.
- All commissioners must undergo polygraph tests to confirm/deny involvement in any form of corruption.
- The skills audit must determine competence and confirm that appoint was not due to any political affiliation or union affiliation (POPCRU) specifically. If appointment was done due to political affiliation and not due to merit, the necessary remedial steps should be followed.
- The panel should lead the restructuring process of SAPS to ensure that police is effectively structured, in order not to waste any much needed resources.
“South Africa can no longer afford a dysfunctional police service. The SAPS, especially members who risk their lives daily combatting crime, deserves leadership with integrity, something the ANC cadres are deprived of.” concludes Cameron.
