Following the impending end of police minster, Bheki Cele’s tenure, police union, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) says it wants to get involved and consulted by the Government of National Unity (GNU) on the future appointment of new ministers.
This comes after media reports indicated that among ministers who will not be returning to Parliament is police minister Bheki Cele.
Following a disastrous showing at the polls, the ANC will be losing a number of its representatives in the National Assembly, including the likes of Lindiwe Zulu, Thulas Nxesi, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Naledi Pandor who got the chop ahead of the seventh administration to be sworn in tomorrow (Thursday).
On Tuesday, following the union’s Gauteng provincial elective conference last week, Popcru president Thulani Ngwenya said the union would like to be involved in choosing/and/or approving possible ministers in the police as well as the justice and correctional services sector.
Ngwenya says given the formidable challenges and high crime rates facing law enforcement, the cluster urgently needs experienced government leaders who understand the criminal justice environment and systems.
“We need leaders with whom we can engage and partner, and who understand the issues at play, so that we can drive progress and strengthen the fight against crime. It is time for South Africa to step forward, not backward, which requires calm, focused, true leadership.
“People are sick and tired of the current state of affairs, as demonstrated by the recent election’s poor voter turnout. So, as the voice of the public servants who operate in this space, Popcru is demanding that government consults with us before and not after appointing their new ministers, so that we can share our guidance on how we envisage the future of their departments,” he said.
Ngwenya added that the union, has in the last five years since the appointment of justice and correctional services minister, Ronald Lamola enjoyed a fruitful working relationship, and would therefore, endorse him to remain rooted in his current position.
“By working closely with Minister Lamola, we have made great strides in self-sustainability programmes at prisons over the past few years. Today, inmates are gaining skills in areas ranging from brick manufacturing and furniture-making to agriculture, while producing goods for the benefit of correctional facilities and the state. This has reduced the cost of prisons, while empowering inmates, reducing violence, and supporting prisoner rehabilitation,” he said.
Ngwenya has also called for the current correctional and services ministry to be split into two, while also calling out the ministry of transport for buying bicycles for learners.
“Meanwhile, we see that the Minister of Transport was involved in buying bicycles for learners instead of employing more traffic officers, when we do not even have enough members to perform duties around the clock. So, who will protect those children as they ride to school when there aren’t enough traffic officials?
”Finally, POPCRU has called for the separation of the Department of Justice and Correctional Services into two separate ministries to create better focus and urgency in the two separate areas. “We need one separate ministry that is specifically concerned with court legislation, which is an enormous task,” he added.
The Star