Officers forced to go to Police Day against their will
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has learnt that South African Police Service (SAPS) offices are being forced to attend Friday's Police Day event in Bloemfontein, even though many do not want to. The event is set to take place on Friday.
Officers will be required to sleep two nights on cramped busses and trains, and a list of officers being forced to attend the event was circulated by the national SAPS head office. Officers were told that they could not opt out of the event.
So much for a "morale booster".
We remain concerned that this event will be a waste of time and money, and will potentially put ordinary South Africans at risk, when 50,000 police officers will be forced to leave their stations and travel to Bloemfontein.
Last Sunday, after the Democratic Alliance broke the news that tens of millions of rands were to be spent on this party, the police spokeswoman Nonkululeko Mbatha told the South African Press Association: "the full cost of the event will be released tomorrow". We are still waiting.