PRESS CONFERENCE BY NHLANHLA MKHWANZAI, ACTING NATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE SERVICE, June 7 2012

Deputy National Commissioner,   LT General Masemola;
Deputy National Commissioner, LT General Stander;
Deputy National Commissioner, LT General Dramat;
Divisional Commissioner, LT General Schutter
Senior Officers Present;
Members of the Media

A very good evening and thank you for attending this press conference called at such short notice. I was out of the province on matters of the state hence the decision to host the media briefing was taken a bit late. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I address this news conference in the midst of a challenging period within the SAPS and as the acting head of the organization it is therefore imperative of me to attend to urgent matters when a need arises. 

Let me take this opportunity and remind all of you and the South Africans at large that our core business within the SAPS is to fight crime. This is the responsibility we have been entrusted with by the fellow South Africans to serve and protect. We therefore want to reassure the public of our commitment to our call of duty. 

Having said that, members of the media, allow me to move straight to the reason for the press conference for this evening. The SAPS management and the Division Crime Intelligence in particular is highly disturbed by the reports reflected in some newspapers purporting untrue reports for reasons unknown to me (see The Star report).

It is on this score that I would like to categorically state and vehemently dismiss any wrongdoing as suggested by the Star in their lead article today, 7 June 2012. The paper further alleges "financial mismanagement" of the secret Service Account, since the intervention and deployment of new managers within the Crime Intelligence Division. This should be dismissed with the seriousness it deserves as it seeks to undermine efforts aimed at bringing efficiency in the environment in the interest of service delivery.

As a matter of specific interest members of the media, it is important to note and record that, a total of 149 vehicles in the region of R35 million were bought in the last quarter of the financial year 2011/2012 for distribution for Crime Intelligence activities in all nine provinces including Head Office.

This included new service and replacement of boarded vehicles. The average cost of each vehicle was approximately R235 000 and 95 % of the vehicles procured comprised of vehicles with engine capacity of 1.4 litre to 2.0 litre. More importantly, not a single of these 149 newly procured vehicles were moved to another division within he SAPS as suggested in the article.

Yes indeed, five other vehicles which were not being optimally used, were moved from Crime Intelligence to another division. However these vehicles were not procured in the year under review. This was indeed well within my responsibility as the accounting officer, which in this case is the Acting National Commissioner of the SAPS.

There is no contravention of any Act or law in this regard. On the contrary, the law, Section 2(1) of the Secret Services Act 56 of 1978 makes provision for the accounting officer to be accountable for the administration of the account and this includes the utilization of resources most advantageously as he deems fit.  

Members of the media this information should not be cooked to mislead the public. This is the main reason we had to call this media conference at short notice to clarify this issue which puts SAPS in a negative light.

The South African Police Service certainly does not just procure goods and services "just for the sake of spending". All spending is informed by a needs assessment and major spending in the last quarter is due to accumulation of needs during the course of the year. Therefore, the bulk of the needs are procured in the last quarter as is the case of the procurement of the vehicles for R35 million in the last quarter of the 2011/2012 financial year.

Once again we would like to plead with the media to exercise caution when they are provided with documents that appear controversial in nature. The media is indeed an important stakeholder that is a critical envoy to the public. Therefore, we implore upon the media to convey information accurately. The mandate of the police is clear and we will do our utmost best to deliver to our fundamental mandate of ensuring that the people of South Africa are and feel safe. 

Members of the media, I want to be on record on this one, I am not going to engage on other issues within the current affairs environment, I will however limit myself to the issues published by The Star newspapers and nothing else. On that note ladies and gentlemen allow me to thank you once again for your continued support.

Issued by the SAPS, June 8 2012

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