SAPS DISMISSED 119 FOR FRAUD AND CORRUPTION IN 2009/10 FISCAL - MINISTER MTHETHWA
Operation clean-up will continue unabated and more aggressively
PRETORIA - 07 December 2010. The clean-up operation of corrupt police officers and staff who are not deserving to be in the South African Police Service (SAPS), resulted in the dismissal of 119 members in the 2009/ 2010 financial year. They were dismissed following intensive investigations as a result of allegations of fraud and corruption.
This was revealed in a Parliamentary reply by the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa today with reference to the outcomes for each province of the 362 investigations regarding disciplinary steps for fraud and corruption against employees in the 2009/2010 fiscal. Of the dismissed members, Gauteng province led with 72, followed by Western Cape at 15 and Mpumalanga at 14.
Meanwhile of the total cases investigated, 29 members received suspended dismissals, 26 were suspended dismissals with fines, 53 were found not guilty and 99 cases were withdrawn. It needs to be understood that the dismissals do not only reflect police officers but include administrative staff at provinces and Head Office. Cases investigated ranged from financial mismanagement, bribery, missing dockets as well as some police officers being in collaboration with criminals in crimes such as robberies and vehicle hijackings.
Minister Mthethwa says the clean-up of the SAPS will continue unambiguously. "We shall never get tired of ridding the SAPS of rotten apples who may be within the Force; in fact we shall become more determined to ensure that only law-abiding police and staff members remain in the Force. We would rather lose hundred corrupt cops and be left with ten morally-upright, committed and disciplined police officers. That is why as part of our new recruitment approach, emphasis will be put on quality rather than quantity."
He also stressed that SAPS cannot effectively fight crime when some of its components and members are themselves involved in fraud and corruption. "The campaign to weed out negative elements with SAPS has no time span. Each day where we discover any form of corruption, we shall expose these culprits. We shall fight the scourge of crime in whatever form it manifest itself, starting from within the Force. Those who say it cannot be done must not distract those who are doing it," concluded the Minister.
Statement issued by Zweli Mnisi, Spokesperson to the Minister of Police, December 7 2010
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