The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) wrapped up the second day of its 10th Provincial Congress for Gauteng in Boksburg on Friday, following which newly elected Provincial Chairperson Tinti Lusenga will be tasked with leading the union’s plans for Gauteng.

Lusenga will be supported by Deputy Chairperson Mavela Mathe, Secretary Lerata Motsiri, Deputy Secretary Nomthandazo Makaya, and Treasurer Rashi Mankoe.

POPCRU President Thulani Ngwenya has congratulated the new leadership for achieving their new positions, and notes that this team has a difficult task ahead as they seek to implement the resolutions tabled at the congress. 

“Gauteng has become a hotbed for crime, as crime statistics consistently show growing lawlessness in the province. However, Lusenga and the rest of the Gauteng provincial leadership have all proven themselves equal to the task. 

“We as national office bearers, on behalf of the National Executive Committee, welcome the leadership as decided by the tenth Provincial Congress. Their work begins now. We look forward to seeing their achievements on the road ahead.”

In addition to unveiling the province’s new leadership, POPCRU adopted a series of resolutions for roll-out over the coming months as it outlined its vision for the province and South Africa. 

These resolutions include:

Improving capacity:

POPCRU has emphasised that the criminal justice cluster must receive increased prioritisation if police, traffic, and correctional service officers are to successfully enforce the rule of law. 

Simultaneously, it noted that the Gauteng province has created about 96,300 jobs in recent years, of which 31,300 were created within three months alone. The bulk of these jobs were created through provincial government-initiated projects, demonstrating that the state can create jobs if it is anchored on a developmental state model.

It has therefore vowed to campaign for all vacant funded posts within the cluster in Gauteng to be urgently filled. Likewise, it aims to encourage the provincial government to increase the intake of new members within law enforcement to strengthen capacity and better ensure the safety of all members. 

Additionally, it has proposed a two-shift system for traffic officers, noting that while a 24/7 shift system is the ideal, this cannot be realised as long as there are severe staff shortages.  

Improving member safety and well-being:

The union is alarmed by the relentless violence and killings being perpetrated against members of law enforcement in South Africa. As such, it is calling on government to strengthen the current legislation on sentences for those found guilty of murdering police officers, and to declare police killing an act of treason. 

It has also noted with alarm high suicide rates and poor mental health among the country’s police, who are often faced with extreme pressure and danger as part of their work. In response, it will be campaigning for government social services to activate preventative and curative programmes, and to make these compulsory for all members of law enforcement. 

Government and police leadership will further be encouraged implement an early warning system to detect and intervene in cases where members should be experiencing suicidal thoughts and tendencies. 

Improving working conditions:

As part of its commitment to improving working conditions for its members in the criminal justice cluster, the Gauteng provincial arm will be implementing a programme of action in defence of collective bargaining. 

This is in response to attempts by management to refuse to pay police for overtime work carried out during the recent national elections. Likewise, POPCRU is unwilling to allow the matter of government’s failure to implement the last leg of the 2018 public service wage agreement slide, and will continue working to force government to honour its agreement. 

Next, it has noted that public infrastructure is in a dire state, especially within the criminal justice cluster, and that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure does not have an effective refurbishment programme – as demonstrated by the case of Telkom Towers. The union is therefore calling on government to allow each department to establish and manage its own infrastructure division.

It is also calling for more public correctional institutions to be built in rural and farming areas to reduce severe levels of overcrowding in current facilities, and to provide correctional services with the space required to implement the proper programmes for centres to become self-sustainable.

Improving socio-economic conditions:

The Gauteng arm has further noted the high levels of poverty and unemployment in the province, and is demanding that government table its macroeconomic policies for labour representatives to review. This will assist in enabling unions to better engage with government, and seek long-term, sustainable solutions to the deepening socio-economic crisis. 

Accordingly, the union has welcomed the introduction of the NHI bill as a major step forward in achieving health equity, and will be advocating for the creation of proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure its swift and effective implementation.  

Next, it underscores that greater attention must be paid to improving infrastructure within schools and educational institutions to maximise career opportunities for learners. As such, mud schools must be eradicated with urgency, and History, Mathematics and Physical Science should be made compulsory for lower levels of the education system. 

Finally, it emphasises that corruption must be rooted out to empower government to improve service delivery. It will therefore seek to mobilise communities and society to address corruption, as well as seek to reward whistleblowers among its members.

 

Issued by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union