President Cyril Ramaphosa has reminded delegates attending the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) Congress of the vital role police officers have in ensuring that South Africa is a safe place, as the country battles with high crime rates. 

He was speaking at the tenth Popcru Congress held in Durban under the theme, “Building a sustainable organisation in defence of collective bargaining”.

Announcing the latest crime statistics in August, Police Minister Bheki Cele expressed concern that “it cannot be normal that 31 police officers are killed in three months”.

Ramaphosa told delegates that South Africans looked to the police force to be defended and protected.    

“Members of the police service are among the most prominent frontline workers that interface with the South African people. The ability of our police to fight crime is for many people a measure of the capability of the State as a whole. The police need to heed the concerns of members of the public about instances when the police have not been responsive or, worse, when they seem to be complicit in criminal activity. Where the police fall short of what is required of them, we must correct the problem. And if any police are involved in criminal activity, we must act quickly and decisively and ensure that they feel the full force of the law,” said Ramaphosa.

STATE CAPTURE

The President insisted that although it had been slow going, government was steadily bringing those allegedly responsible for State capture to justice.

Over the last four years, the National Prosecuting Authority has taken 34 State capture and other corruption cases to court, involving 205 accused persons.

The freezing orders of R14-billion have now been granted to the Asset Forfeiture Unit for State capture-related cases while around R5.4-billion has, to date, been recovered and returned to the State.

Ramaphosa said action on illegal mining, which had been a burden on mining communities and the South African Police Service, was beginning to make inroads and several illegal mines, unregulated coal yards and unregistered second-hand dealers had been shut down.

“We urge communities to work closely with law enforcement agencies to make an even bigger dent in this area. While we work to tackle crime, we must work with equal vigour to tackle the social and economic factors that cause crime.

"The African National Congress (ANC) government will continue with its efforts to address poverty and provide relief to millions of South Africans,” he said.

ELECTIONS

As the country geared up for the 2024 elections, the President reminded Popcru delegates, who were also ANC alliance partners, that municipalities must be able to function and serve the people properly.

“All of us, live in and engage with local government and can do more to make local councils function better. As the ANC, we have, for example, noted an improvement in electricity supply. While the power grid has not yet stabilised sufficiently, we can see some of the benefits of the work that we have been doing,” he said.

He said the congress delegates must lead in establishing community policing forums and other community safety forums.

He encouraged the alliance to become more focused as the elections get closer and as the ANC works on its renewal.

“We have come far, but we still have much to do. We will approach the election next year to seek a mandate to complete the process of renewal and rebuilding. As the ANC, as the Alliance and as the broader democratic movement, we must go out with a clear determination to win the elections,” he highlighted.

Ramaphosa blamed coalitions for instability in municipalities, which he said had affected service delivery and infrastructure investment.

“Our task is to secure a clear mandate for renewal and rebuilding. That is our historic mission as a revolutionary alliance. And it is well within our means,” he said.