KZN SAPS is completely unprepared for future violent unrest
30 June 2022
The Democratic Alliance today completed its week long tour in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to assess the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) state of readiness to deal with future violent unrest in the province.
Almost a year after violence broke out in KZN, in July 2021, we have met with victims of crime and members of the SAPS to gain insight into the state of policing.
From our engagements with the SAPS it is clear that they are completely unprepared for future violent unrest which might occur. SAPS members told us that they had received no additional resources since the violent unrest of July 2021. Most police stations did not have working generators or phone lines and it was clear that morale among SAPS members is at an all time low.
In a recent response to a parliamentary question submitted by the DA, Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, revealed that more than 50% of the fleet for the Public Order Police in KZN is not operational (view here). This shocking revelation comes nearly a full year after the violent unrest which brought the province to its knees.