How did 40 000 police officers disappear?
19 August 2014
In a bizarre reply to a DA parliamentary question the new Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, claims there are only 115 692 operational South African Police Service (SAPS) members. Yet in the current Annual Report the figure - which the DA has used extensively - is 155 531.
The DA will today write to the Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, asking if we have 115 692 or 155 531 operational members - the first from his latest reply, the second from the SAPS 2012/13 Annual Report. Someone is wrong. However, in the latest admission, while there were 39 000 without competency certificates in July, there are only 9 976 today.
The Minister has sent us a reply claiming that today there are 39 839 operational members of the SAPS - missing? Have they resigned? Or has the Minister perhaps been misinformed. Another concern is that they may have failed their firearm competency test so often, they are no longer eligible to even qualify for a firearm.
Once again we will have to go back to the Minister with further questions - in an attempt to find out who has blundered, or where the mysterious 39 843 operational SAPS members have gone.