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The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province’s permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) focused on the capacity of the South African Police Service (SAPS) to fight crime including the state of police stations in township and rural areas and their resourcing in the province.
 
The delegation was in the province this week as part of the NCOP’s annual Provincial Week programme. The delegation was briefed on the first day by the MEC for Safety, Community and Liaison, Ms Peggy Nkonyeni who informed the delegation that almost all police stations in the province required maintenance and refurbishment.
 
In KZN, five SAPS stations in three districts were selected for site visits. They are: Manguzi, Inanda, Montclair, Bellair and Plessislaer police stations.
 
The delegation identified challenges that include office space in most police stations visited.  In some stations the delegation was told that gender-based-violence desk still needs to be established. The delegation heard that there is a backlog on firearm license applications. It also heard that the centralisation of services results in procurement delays even for minor procurement needs as appointment of suppliers has to go through the Head Office in Pretoria, a step that renders the provision of services ineffective. 
 
Many police stations do not have the required digital technology system in place as a result most services and other processes are conducted manually. In Manguzi the construction of a new police station building has been delayed for two years and the cause of the delay has not been established.
 
Manguzi police station does not have cleaning staff and groundsmen which is a major concern. The delegation noted that the SAPS police station in Montclair is 120 years old and dilapidated. The Montclair detective services branch is accommodated in a rented building five kilometres from the station.
 
There is a problem with the supply of electricity at Bellair police station where corridors leading to the cells are always dark as the lights are not working in some of the areas of the station. The problem has been reported to the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
 
At all the visited police stations, the delegation heard that police vehicles that are sent to the garage for repairs take a long time to be repaired and in some cases some vehicles wait for more than 81 days before they are repaired.
 
The delegation recommended that SAPS management should urgently address the issue of capacity at Manguzi station including Public Order Policing, Visible Policing, and Crime Intelligence as it is a iborder police station.
 
Currently there are only four police officers on duty in a shift and two are based at the satellite station. The area is vast and the station requires more police officers to cover the entire area. The delegation also heard that the issue of motor vehicle theft is high in the area.
 
The delegation called for close cooperation between SAPS, National Treasury, and Public Works to ensure that proper internal control systems are put in place to prevent the same delays in future infrastructure projects.
 
The delegation was concerned about the delays caused by centralization of procurement processes at Head Office. It asked the Department of Community Safety and Liaison to provide a progress report on the political unrest in the province.
 
With other provincial delegations, the KZN delegation will table its report to the NCOP for consideration where it will be considered and an action plan will be developed by the House to ensure that the Executive addresses these challenges.

Issued by The Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of The Leader of the delegation to KZN, Lindiwe Bebee