The following speech was delivered by GOOD MP Shaun August during the budget vote on Police in Parliament today.
Shaun August MP
GOOD
Shaun Augusts asks ” Are we getting real policing for the amount of money spent by the Department?”
24 July 2020
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Honourable Chair.
As we consider the Police Budget today, it is vital we remember that SAPS’s core mandate is to prevent, combat and investigate crime.
The police is responsible for maintaining public order and to keep people and their possessions safe.
Yet it is unfortunate that our people feel the opposite of “safe” and “protected”. Crime only ever seems to become a bigger problem. Our collective failures to stem the epidemic of violence against women and children is a disgrace.
We have the right to protest, but every day we see more violent protests, the destruction of more property, more injuries, more loss of life.
Let us ask ourselves, are we getting real policing for the amount of money spent by the Department?
We can’t avoid crime; it is all around us. We brush shoulders with law-breakers every day – on our way to the shop, on our way to school, even in our own homes.
We are deliberating on a budget today, but our citizens don’t want to hear about costs.
Honourable Chair.
We read about additional police being deployed to our most dangerous communities, particularly on the Cape Flats, but where are they?
Where are they when most needed in our townships? Do they have zero capacity to stop the violence on our farms?
If we must hear about numbers, tell us how many police officers are deployed where, per 100 000 citizens, with how many vans.
As we enter another weekend, when most violent crimes occur. How many police offices are currently deployed to the Cape Flats today?
What are their official orders to fulfil their mandate in our hotspots?
Do our communities get regular info on what to do when a shooting occurs, or if a robbery takes place?
These are the real issues that our community is faced with and experience.
Our people want to know that their front line crime fighters are just that – on the front lines.
How can we tell if this budget is sufficient when on the ground our people must listen to excuses from police, such as not having access to a car?
And far too many examples of police stations which are understaffed and police being unable to tend to murder cases because they are at another crime scene.
Without real knowledge and context, budget-making processes can become meaningless box-ticking exercises.
With billions already spent, but South Africans still cannot feel the impact of this money.
Honourable Chair.
GOOD is committed to a budget that can reduce violent and petty crime and protect all South Africans in our towns, cities and rural areas.
I thank you.