Lt General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi at the media briefing in Pretoria
28 Oct 2011
The Chief Operations Officer, Lt General Mgwenya
All Deputy National Commissioners present
Divisional Commissioners
Provincial Commissioners
All SAPS members present
Ladies and Gentlemen
Greetings to you all and thank you for attending this media briefing which comes amid recent changes within the South African Police Service (SAPS). We as the SAPS top management called this media briefing to share with you, by extension the people of South Africa our commitment in the fight against crime.
Members of the media I preside over this briefing this afternoon having finished just over 72 hours as the Acting National Commissioner of the SAPS. Before we get to the gist of today's briefing, I must say, my office has been inundated with requests for interviews from different media houses since Monday.
My team and I had a long discussion on this subject hence the briefing this afternoon. I must however reiterate the fact that I am not the man of many words, I am not even familiar with the media environment, but what I know best is fighting crime.
During my tenure as the Acting National Commissioner I will ensure that the foundation that has been laid by General Bheki Cele is reinforced and taken forward. No one can dispute the fact that General Cele made a significant impact and change in ensuring that we squeeze the space for criminals to zero through resources and human capital investment.
The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr. JG Zuma has entrusted myself and the SAPS top management with the responsibility to lead over 200 000 members of the organisation. My job is to steer the ship to the direction that has been set.
You all know that other than the Captain of the Ship, at lot is done by crew members for the ship to sail through the rough waters; therefore it is imperative to note that I have been a crew member myself under the outstanding and sterling leadership of our National Commissioner.
Two weeks ago, I was walking the streets of Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Motherwell with General Cele and our members on the ground. As a matter of specific interest members of the media, it is a fact that the SAPS has been transformed tremendously in the past two years, I stand in this podium to today with the aim of reassuring South Africans that the fight against crime continues.
The public's levels of trust in SAPS officials continue to rise. As management we would like to assure members of the SAPS that the fight against crime will not be compromised. We urge our members not to be derailed but rather to reinforce their commitment in delivering to our fundamental mandate of serving and protecting fellow South Africans.
We owe this to the women and children who are victims of rape, domestic violence and sexual offences, those who have regained their hope with the re-establishment of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units (FCS).
We owe this to communities in Dambuza, Edendale, Mamelodi, Mdanstane,Thokoza, Seshego,Khayelitsha and KwaNyamazane, those who have reclaimed their streets because of police action, police visibility and high level of police morale. We owe this to the precedent we have set to put South Africa in a world policing map by silencing the prophets of doom during the world spectacular event, the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The list is endless members of the media including the significant drop in crime statistics for two consecutive years. With this I say backward never and forward with the robust fight against crime.
The recent release of crime statistics has shown a major decrease in priority crimes across provinces. The provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and KwaZulu - Natal have noted a decrease of more than 3.8% for all serious crimes.
The provinces of Eastern Cape and Free State have shown decreases 1.4% and 1.3% respectively while Western Cape and North West provinces have shown increases of 1.5% and 3.0% respectively. As a matter of fact, let me take this opportunity and warn the criminals out there, that they will not enjoy any Diwali, Christmas, New Year or even Easter in this country. SAPS members will continue to carry their duties with excellence and vigour and meet fire with fire in the fight against crime.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, our tough talk on crime continues, I have been an operational member all my life and my core mandate is to fight crime. I would like invite the media fraternity to join in the fight against crime and stop criticising. You can only claim to know something when you are part of it and not a spectator. It is about time media takes its rightful place in society by contributing positively in the fight against crime.
The future of the SAPS, Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, is not only possible; it is firmly within our reach. As we carry out our duties, we are driven by the priorities we have set for ourselves as the organisation; to prevent, combat and investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure the inhabitants of the republic and their property and uphold and enforce the law.
Thus far, a lot has been achieved however a lot still needs to be done. Our driving force is to remain effective, efficient and consistent in turning SAPS into a centre for excellence and organisation of choice. The SAPS that we have today is staffed by officers who put their lives at risk each time they leave home to go to work. These heroes and heroines willingly put their lives on the line in an attempt to ensure that ordinary South Africans do not become victim of yet another senseless violent crime.
Hence I repeat police will meet fire with fire in the fight against crime. Again I would like to express my appreciation to all members of the SAPS who diligently go about working together to make our communities safe and having them feel safe.
I thank you.
Issued by the SAPS, October 28 2011
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