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28 March 2006

The Honourable Speaker
Honourable Premier
Members of the Executive Council
Honourable Members of the Legislature
Portfolio Committee on Safety, Security and Liaison
Provincial Commissioner Sengani and SAPS Management
Representatives of Justice Cluster
The Provincial CPF Board
The Media
Distinguished Guests
Comrades
Ladies and Gentlemen

A few days ago we launched the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy as part of celebrating Human Rights Day. It was pleasing to see that our people heeded to the call by our Premier, Honourable Sello Moloto to be part of launching this watershed strategy aimed at making Limpopo a safer place. The large turnout at the Peter Mokaba Stadium during the launch of the strategy signifies our people’s willingness to participate in bringing down the levels of crime in the Province.

In the beginning of this month we visited a family that had just lost a child at Manamani village, outside Thohoyandou. When listening to the family and villagers, we learnt that the community strongly believes that, this nine year old boy, Mulweli Nemadandila, became another statistic of unsolved ritual killings in their area.

However, during our interaction it was fulfilling to hear that our people are hopeful that our visit in their area as representatives of the department will yield positive results in terms of bringing to an end the unpleasant situation they find themselves in. After the visit, Daily Sun Newspaper of 07 March 2006 carried a story focusing on the strong hopes of the family and community of Manamani, which were brought by our visit in their area.

The paper continued to quote the mother of the deceased saying:

“My only hope is you, MEC. Please make sure that people who murdered my boy are arrested.” This shows our people’s confidence and hope in how this government can make a difference in the lives of fellow human beings.

Honourable Speaker

Speaking at the opening of Parliament during his State of the Nation Address, on 3 February this year, President Thabo Mbeki emphasised that:
“Our people are firmly convinced that our country has entered its Age of Hope.

They are convinced that we have created the conditions to achieve more rapid progress towards the realization of their dreams.” It is within this context that we see the Department of Safety, Security and Liaison compelled to respond to reasonable expectations of our people, such as Mulweli’s mother, Mirriam.

Honourable Speaker

As a department we are determined to mitigate the risks that make our people, especially the youth vulnerable to crime. The Manyeleti Youth Academy is such an opportunity. Nyiko Shipalana, from BushBuckridge, is one of those who heard about Manyeleti Youth Academy, and never hesitated to seize the opportunity to be part of its first intakes. After completing his training, Nyiko has become a classical example of a success story.

In his speech during the first graduation ceremony at the Academy, Nyiko said to his fellow graduates: “Let us use the skills that we have obtained at this academy to help our communities and be useful youths. Now we have responsibilities in our communities.”

Today Nyiko is working as a Project Supervisor in charge of three sites at Pandani Environmental Technologists. He is supervising 67 workers with the knowledge he gained at Manyeleti Youth Academy. It is through such stories that we are able to measure the success of our programs. As a department we want to confirm that we are firmly committed to continuously touch the lives of our people in a positive way.

Honourable Speaker

The advent of the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy should be seen as the beginning of a well-co-ordinated, focused and sustainable approach to preventing and combating crime in Limpopo, thus responding to challenges mentioned above. The strategy outlines through six themes how this Province aims at reducing the levels of crime by 50% by the year 2009, thus achieving one of the targets of the Provincial, Growth and Development Strategy. It also lays a strong basis for the province to respond to the national target of consistently reducing the levels of social fabric crime in particular by 7% to 10% annually.

Honourable Speaker

The province is confronted with challenges of moral degeneration and social fabric decay. The unco-ordinated issuing of liquor licenses leads to alcohol abuse, drinking and driving related crimes. The socio-economic conditions our people live in create an environment conducive to crime. The abuse of women and children has become a common practice. The emerging informal settlements are creating an environment that is conducive for crime. The future of the youth is destroyed with exposure to drugs.

Subsequent to the adoption of the strategy by the executive council and the people of Limpopo, we commissioned a study in partnership with Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) with funding from Belgium to the tune of four hundred and forty thousand Rand to assist in the implementation of the strategy.

The study looked at the following:

* policing in Limpopo with specific reference to resource allocation, transformation of SAPS and crime trends

* an analysis of municipal integrated development plans with specific reference to safety and security issues

* implementation and co-ordination we need to put in place in order for us to achieve objectives of the provincial crime prevention strategy and community policing in particular

* implementation programmes and projects, projected time lines and funding consideration

This study was conducted concurrently with stakeholder specific implementation consultative process in the Vhembe and Capricon District. The following stakeholders participated in this process:

* traditional leaders and healers
* church groups
* victim empowerment organisations
* the Moral Regeneration Movement
* Human Rights Commission
* Gender commission
* educators and school governing bodies
* Youth Commission

We will continue to extend these consultations to other districts and stakeholders not yet reached. Given the outcome of this study and stakeholder consultations, we as a department are well positioned to lead the process of implementing the strategy.

Hence we want to dedicate the financial year 2006/2007 to taking quantifiable steps in implementation of the strategy. Our budget for the financial year 2006/07 is at 28 million, eight hundred and fifty three Rand, which reflects an increase of 22% from the previous budget. This translates to approximately R5 million. The department has to cater for annual increase in staff costs and also factoring normal increase in price levels.

It also has to cater for building its management capacity through filling vacant post, as a result of its upgrade to DDG level. The above mentioned indicates clearly that the department will continue to struggle to fulfil its mandate , in particular meeting the PGDS target of reducing crime by 50% by the year 2009 and the National target of reducing Social Fabric Crimes by 7 – 10% annually. This will affect the Department’s ability to move quickly in the implementation of the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy.

Program 1: Administration

We have budgeted Fifteen Million Three Hundred and Fifty Nine Rand for costs related to support programs and systems. This budgeted amount is apportioned as follows:

* Support functions personnel: ten million four hundred and forty thousand Rand
* Information Technology Systems: eight hundred thousand Rand
* Financial Management: three hundred and eight thousand Rand
* Head of Departments Office: four hundred and five thousand Rand
* MEC`s Office: six hundred and six thousand Rand
* Corporate Services: two million four hundred thousand Rand
* Risk and Security: four hundred thousand Rand

To ensure that the capacity of the department is strengthened, we have embarked on a recruitment process aimed at increasing the staff complement in the 2005/06 financial year. We have thus far managed to appoint the Head of Department with effect from 01 December 2005. We believe he will steer the Department into greater heights.

We will also contribute to implementing the Provincial Human Resource Development Strategy by implementing an internship program to the tune of Two Hundred and Sixteen Thousand Rand thus benefiting twelve young people.

We want to submit to the house that due to the budget constraints alluded to earlier, the department will function without some critical management posts for the financial year 2006/2007.

Program 2: Crime Prevention and Community Relations

Honourable Members

Key to our constitutional mandate is building relations between the South African Police Services in the province and communities they serve. Fulfilling this mandate requires a thorough appreciation of Safety and Security challenges our people face on the ground. It also requires deliberate mobilization of our people to participate in crime prevention through representative structures and community based crime prevention projects. The Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy, in line with the National Crime Prevention Strategy, correctly emphasises the need to deepen Community Policing. Community Police Forums (CPFs)and Community Safety Forums (CSFs)are core to the realization of Community Policing.

Community Police Forums and Community Safety Forums

In the previous financial year we provided operational support CPFs at a provincial, area and station level in the province. This included training to the tune of five hundred thousand Rand; however we continue to face the challenge of retaining members due to a short term of office and election processes. We have already developed a framework for implementation of crime prevention projects by CPFs. We also completed guidelines for the establishment of Community Safety Forums in all municipalities in the province. This are outcomes of a provincial CPF and CSF seminar we hosted in the financial year 2005/2006 as announced during the budget speech.

We will therefore utilise the 2006/2007 financial year to roll out the establishment of Community Safety Forums to all municipalities and the implementation of one Community-Based Crime Prevention Project per district through Community Police Forums.

These structures will also be at the forefront of implementing Moral Regeneration focused interventions in targeted areas where there is high anti-social behaviour.

Honourable Members

Crime Awareness Campaigns and operations

Our work in this area will include co-operating with the National Safety and Security Ministry on operation Basadi (an operation aiming at targeting cases on crimes related to women and children), with the national ministry of justice and constitutional development on operation Isondlo (an operation targeting crimes related to child maintenance claims) and operation Bana which we will implement with the Provincial Department of Health and Social Development focusing on reducing levels of child support grant abuse.

We will also implement operation fahfee focusing at reducing the levels of illegal gambling in the province, this we will implement in co-operation with the Provincial Gambling Board. We are confident that these operations will yield the success expected given the commitment, co-operation and readiness of our provincial SAPS.

Our crime awareness messages will address the abovementioned issues including alcohol and substance abuse. This we will do through running road shows and hosting community discussion forums.

As part of implementing the Provincial Crime Prevention strategy we will work in partnership with relevant institutions as follows:

* We will review the Provincial Safety Plan to ensure that it encapsulates issues affecting farm workers, farm dwellers and villages.

* We will partner with the Provincial Tourism Board in the development of a provincial Safety and Security tourism plan.

* We will also partner with the Department of Education in reviewing the safer schools plan with a view to link it to reducing the number of school going age young people from police holding cells.

* We will partner with the Department of Local Government and Housing in Municipal Integrated Development Plan (IDP) reviewable processes and ensure that all approved IDPs have municipal safety plans.

* We will partner with the Department of Health and Social Development in a process of developing a provincial victim’s support services plan.

Empowerment of Youth at Risk

Honourable Speaker

Empowering of out of school and unemployed youth with skills to become change agents and resourceful members of the society, remains one of our top priorities.

Manyeleti Youth Project is a Crime Prevention and diversion program initiated by the Department of Safety, Security & Liaison for youth at risk in Limpopo.

Through this academy we were able to train 196 students in the 2005/06 financial year.

In this financial year, we shall strive to enlist 300 youths in this academy. Placement of graduates and continued funding are our main challenges, to overcome this we have developed a placement strategy and fundraising strategy.

Hence as a Department of Safety, Security and Liaison we have set aside four million one hundred and thirty one thousand Rand for the Crime Prevention and Community Relations. This amount includes three million one hundred and seventy four thousand Rand for personnel costs and nine hundred and fifty seven thousand Rand for implementing programmes. In addition we have budgeted one million Rand as a transfer to Manyeleti youth academy.

Program 3: Monitoring and Evaluation

Honourable Speaker

We want to assure this house that, as a Department we are committed to fulfilling our constitutional mandate of monitoring police conduct, overseeing the effectiveness and efficiency of police service including receiving reports on police service delivery.

During the 2005/06 financial the department has monitored and evaluated 32 police stations. In addition, stakeholders’ surveys were conducted in the precinct of these stations. These surveys inform the department about the perceptions of communities on service delivery by South African Police Services (SAPS). Through this exercises we have identified weaknesses in how the SAPS implements Batho Pele principles.

In an effort to improve institutional efficiency, the Call Centre has now become fully operational. The toll free number is also distributed to stakeholders during the surveys and during all our Crime Prevention Awareness Campaigns.

The introduction of Auto-attendant voice message has been enabling all members of the public to access services of the department with ease. The Auto-attendant system has been recorded in five official languages used in the province (i.e. Sepedi, Xitsonga, Tshivenda, Afrikaans and English).

We will improve the management and increase personnel to enable the call centre to operate 24 hours in the new financial year. Popularising the toll free number which is 0800 54 67 will continue to be our priority. We will also install complaints and complement boxes in all municipalities.

Honourable Members

Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate our police stations in the province for the good service they continue to render regardless of limitations caused by lack of material and human resources.

In the same breath we want to honour our police officials who passed away in the line of duty and indicate that their contribution to building our nation will leave an indelible mark for future generations.

We also want to congratulate SAPS in the province for winning the Impumelelo Award. Congratulation also goes to the Area Commissioner of Correctional Services for Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West, Watson Tshivhase for winning the Long Service Excellence Award. Processes leading to the fourth Provincial Police Service Delivery Excellence Awards, to acknowledge outstanding work by the SAPS, are at an advanced stage. The Awards will be held on the 31 March 2006.

Our men and women in blue have continued to do well in dealing with escapes from police custody. Seventy two (72) cases involving hundred and fifty three (153) escapees were reported during the 2005/06 financial year. Through swift responses to this, most of the escapees have been apprehended.

However we have noted that most of these escapes were due to neglect of duty by some police officials and general disregard of safety procedures. We therefore want to report to the house that disciplinary processes are unfolding.

During the same period four courts and police stations in their respective jurisdictions were visited by the Court Visit Task Team constituted by the provincial JCPS to resolve blockages in the Criminal Justice System.

These four Magistrates’ Courts were Nebo, Praktiseer, Mhala and Mapulaneng Magistrate Courts while the police stations were Nebo, Tubatse, Mhala and Bushbuckridge Police Stations.

We will continuously strive to improve co-operation and focus in the JCPS cluster on reducing crime levels in the province. This will include improving the effectiveness of investigations, prosecutions and reduction of long period of case postponements.

We will conduct a community satisfaction survey aiming at assessing the impact of police services on our people and further contextualising declining crime statistics in the province. This process will take place concurrently with national monitoring tool implementation processes.

We will continue to monitor the implementation of service delivery transformation plans of the South African Police Service in order to assess the extent to which Batho Pele principles are implemented. This will be made possible by the newly established transformation unit in the Department.

Monitoring the implementation of Sector Policing by SAPS is key to our constitutional mandate, as a department our assessment is that this strategy is not fully implemented. We will therefore focus on ensuring that this is done in the year 2006/2007

For the 2006/07 financial year, four million one hundred and seven thousand Rand has been budgeted to ensure that all these are achieved.

This includes three million five hundred and fifty thousand Rand for compensation of employees and Five Hundred and Fifty Seven Thousand Rand for implementing the programmes.

Program 4: Research Strategic Business Unit

Honourable speaker

In the current financial year this unit successfully hosted the Summit on Crime and developed the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy [PCPS]. Our collaborative research exercise with the Institute of Security Studies [Access to Justice - Role of Traditional Leaders] has been concluded with the publishing of a monograph on the research findings. This research will be extended to include other provinces and a comprehensive report will be released later this year.

Research and planning programs to be initiated in the financial year 2006/7 financial year are outlined as follows:

* Audit of VEP centres in the province;

* Domestic Violence and Child Abuse a Survey of Cases Reported at Police Stations and an assessment of the handling of such cases by SAPS
* a Survey on the effect of alcohol and substance abuse on crime levels in the province with an emphasis on the effectiveness of regulations on Liquor Licenses,
* Spatial Development Initiatives – Survey of Town Planning Initiatives impact on crime levels in the province
* audit of illegal gambling in the province [its impact on the PGDS]
* a survey on the role our communities can play in reducing ritual killings and crimes related to witchcraft

We have budgeted one million eight hundred and three thousand Rand in the new financial to discharge this responsibility. This includes the amount of one million three hundred and fifty thousand Rand for compensation of employees and four hundred and fifty three thousand Rand for implementing programmes.

Program 5: Communications and Advocacy

Honourable Speaker

Our Communications Unit has been central to maximizing public participation in crime prevention programs.
In the current financial year we provided eleven villages with a platform to raise issues on Safety and Security and get responses through speak to your MEC campaigns. We also intensified media coverage of crime awareness messages.

In order to further widen community outreach and interaction through all forms of media we have increased the communications and advocacy budget from one million two hundred and ninety one thousand Rand for 2005/06 financial year to two million four hundred and fifty three thousand Rand for 2006/07.

This includes the amount of one million four hundred and fifty thousand Rand for compensation of employees and one million and three thousand Rand for implementing programmes. The Communication Unit will place the marketing of the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategy as a priority.

Honourable Speaker

At this juncture I want to extend a word of appreciation to our stakeholders for their contribution to departmental programmes in making Limpopo a safe province. I would also like to thank members of the departmental staff for the sterling service they continue to render to our communities.

Honourable Speaker

We want to submit to this house that the Budget of the Department of Safety, Security and Liaison for the financial year 2006/07 should be viewed within the context of making our communities optimistic about their future and the future of our Province. The provincial crime prevention strategy is key to maintaining this hope and strengthening our people’s confidence in safety and security services offered by government institutions.

In conclusion, true to the spirit of maintaining hope in growing and developing our province we would like to invite our people to contribute in bringing down the levels of crime in the Province.

Let’s join hands to fight crime

Are thusaneng go lwantsha bosenyi

Kha ri farisane u lwana na vhutshinyi

A hi pfunaneni ku lwa ni vugevenga

Kom ons beveg misdaad deur saam te span

I Thank You, And God Bless You

Issued by: Department of Safety, Security and Liaison, Limpopo Provincial Government
28 March 2006