It has been revealed in a meeting of the Police Portfolio Committee that more than 150 police stations around the country don’t have access to basic services.

Thousands of dedicated men and women risk their lives to serve in the SAPS and protect our safety. It is an outrage that many of these SAPS members are forced to work in police stations that lack access to working water, electricity and sewerage systems.

In light of the information presented to the committee, I will today be writing to the Chair of the Public Service Commission to request that a full investigation is conducted into the poor working conditions at South African police stations.

Examples of the conditions at SAPS stations include:

• 27 stations across the country either have no electricity, or no power generator. Of these stations, 15 are in the Eastern Cape.

• Of the 87 stations that have no working sewerage system, 71 are in the Eastern Cape.

• 54 stations have no running water, of which 31 are in the Eastern Cape.

• Durban Harbour station in KwaZulu-Natal does not have electricity, water or sewerage.

• 5 stations in the Eastern Cape do not have water or sewerage, including Coffee Bay, Phumalanga, Cweraland, Palmietfontein and Ngqamakhwe.

• Avondale in the Eastern Cape does not have sewerage or electricity.

The poor state of SAPS stations must be contrasted with the SAPS’ irregular expenditure bill for 2010/11, which is estimated to be as high as R1.5 billion. R22 million was spent by the SAPS on this year’s National Police Day alone.

The SAPS top brass need to get their priorities straight. It is the needs of their members, not lavish parties, which should come first.

SAPS members cannot be expected to fight crime and keep communities safe if their stations do not meet minimum requirements. A full investigation must be conducted into the current state of affairs, and the leadership of SAPS must show that they are committed to the needs of their officers at the coalface of the fight against crime.