"Too white" SAPS water unit target of discrimination, warns Solidarity: Water wing crucial for service delivery to public

Trade union Solidarity today accused the South African Police Service (SAPS) of highly irresponsible conduct, following reports in the media today claiming that the Gauteng water wing faces possible closure as a result of racial inequality. Solidarity maintains that several cases of discrimination on the grounds of race and gender have been reported in the SAPS and also came to the fore in lawsuits the trade union embarked on this year regarding the application of affirmative action in the police.

Solidarity called on the SAPS to indicate whether or not these allegations are valid. Meanwhile the trade union also maintains that the SAPS would be better off if it replaced the head of crime prevention, General Phumzo Gela, who supposedly wants to close down the unit, with a general who can look beyond colour and focus on service delivery.

According to media reports on the matter, the province's water wing consists of eight non-white and 34 white members and the unit is likely to be disbanded because it is not representative.

"The allegations are very serious. The alleged action against white members of the unit comes down to discrimination. Besides this, the closure of the unit will hold serious consequences for service delivery to South Africans," Solidarity spokesperson Ilze Nieuwoudt said today.

According to information on these units that is available on the website of the SAPS, police divers conduct close to 1 000 diving operations every year. The unit is, among other things, responsible for conducting search and recovery operations to recover bodies and any other objects in water. Besides this function, crime prevention is also a vital aspect of police divers' work. Divers must, among other things, focus on water safety and police organised water sports and recreational events. These units also provide essential support in crime investigations.

"If this unit is disbanded merely because of a racial issue, expertise that is crucial for combating and solving crime in the province will be lost," Nieuwoudt explained.

"The need for these specialist units cannot be denied," Nieuwoudt said. "Research that was done on the Gauteng water wing by Roland Booysen, a master's degree student at Unisa, in 2009 shows that the Gauteng unit consists of four parts, namely the North and East Rand, Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Vaal Rand. In 2006, these units performed a total of 1 060 hours' work, recovered 139 bodies, rendered assistance at crime scenes, rescued 139 people and helped to trace 27 pieces of evidence." 

Meanwhile the study also shows that the enforcement of affirmative action has a negative impact on the unit. One member of the unit who was interviewed for the study said: "As a result of affirmative action, it often happens that black people do not meet the requirements of the water-related courses ... [and] people who can swim may not be sent on the courses because of their skin colour." The member also remarked in the study that issues like resignations, promotions and annual medical check-ups that are not passed put additional pressure on human resources in the unit.

Statement issued by Ilze Nieuwoudt, Spokesperson: Solidarity, December 22 2010

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