Decade-long Selebi disaster will only end in two months

Jackie Selebi has been a decade-long disaster as National Police Commissioner. Clearly his time is up and we are most pleased by reports indicating that his contract will not be renewed, and that a new permanent commissioner will be installed in his place.

However, the Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa admitted in this afternoon's budget debate that Commissioner Selebi must be given two months notice if his contract is not to be renewed - and that this has not yet been done. This means that his tenure as Police Commissioner, already extended by one month, will now presumably be drawn out through July and August.

This all raises the question: if the Zuma administration wants to replace Selebi, why did it not notify him timeously? Was the administration simply dithering, or is it unutterably incompetent?

We have stated repeatedly that the South African Police Service needs leadership, and it needs specialist expertise. Clearly installing a permanent commissioner will help on the former point; but when Selebi is eventually relieved of his duties, the real test will be to see whether the Zuma administration appoints a suitably qualified candidate to replace Selebi. 

The ANC has experimented with cadre deployment in the Police Service before. Commissioner Selebi was himself a former ANC MP, who had no experience at all on security matters when he was appointed in late 1999. At the time, one newspaper editorial noted: "many question whether someone who is essentially a political animal owing loyalty to the ruling party, rather than a professional policeman, is the right person for the job." Those questions have been answered , but we would be setting our country back a decade by making the same mistake of cadre deployment to this crucial post.

It is unclear whether stubbornness or sheer lethargy was to blame for the decision to extend Selebi's contract, and indeed the failure to notify him of his dismissal. Either way, we ought to have had clarity far sooner on this critical matter. Nearly two months into the Zuma administration, and we still are in the dark as to who the new Police Commissioner will be.

Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of police, July 1 2009

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