https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / News / All News RSS ← Back
Africa|Building|Defence|Resources|Services|Sustainable
Africa|Building|Defence|Resources|Services|Sustainable
africa|building|defence|resources|services|sustainable
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Police union demands transformation within Justice Department

Close

Embed Video

Police union demands transformation within Justice Department

Popcru President Zizamele Cebekhulu has said transformation in the Department of Justice & Correctional Services is long overdue (Camera & editing: Nicholas Boyd)

10th November 2023

By: Sane Dhlamini
Creamer Media Senior Contributing Editor and Researcher

ARTICLE ENQUIRY      SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

Police union demands transformation within Justice Department 

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union President Dr Zizamele Cebekhulu has said transformation in the Department of Justice and Correctional Services is long overdue, especially as the Jali and Zondo Commission’s recommendations must be implemented.

Advertisement

He spoke to Polity in an exclusive interview discussing policing issues, as the union celebrates its 10th congress in Durban, under theme ‘Building a sustainable organisation in defence of collective bargaining’.

He said while the police arrest perpetrators of lawlessness and Correctional Services does well to contain them, he believes the Department of Justice and Correctional Services has dropped the ball.

Advertisement

 “…but we have got a lazy department called the Department of Justice that is not doing its job. We want that department to do its job,” he said.

However, he praised Minister Ronald Lamola for doing well in the Ministry of Correctional Services with sustainable programmes.    

Cebekhulu noted that prisoners are eating the food that they themselves have farmed.

The uniform factory in Witbank has been resuscitated, resulting in Correctional Services being able to produce its own uniform.

Cebekhulu urged other government departments to follow suit as he pointed out that “in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act Provisions, it is the responsibility of the government to issue the uniform to its workers”.

Cebekhulu said government must look into the agreements signed with countries such as China, which are not benefiting South Africa “because all the clothing made in South Africa becomes so expensive compared to what we bring from China”. 

On the issue of police salaries which has been an ongoing concern, he said low salaries is not a justification for police members to take bribes.

CRIME AND POLICE KILLING

Cebekhulu said crime and police killings are a societal issue that requires all government departments to work together.

He said unmonitored porous borders which allow illegal migrants to easily enter the country creates unnecessary pressure for the police. 

Popcru is in discussions with various non-government organisations about the high levels of crime and hopes this collaboration could create a formidable force in crime fighting.

On the statements by Police Minister Bheki Cele who has told police not to die with the resources they have been given; to act first; and to use "proportional force" in the line of duty as the number of police officers killed gradually increases, Cebekhulu said that Cele statement is reactionary.

He stated that the police must act within the law.

“If we get emotional about all situations we are going to make mistakes. We have to work within the law but it’s the government that must make the law adequate for police to work,” stated Cebekhulu.

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE ARTICLE ENQUIRY

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Email Registration Success

Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to one or more of Creamer Media’s email newsletters. You should start receiving the email newsletters in due course.

Our email newsletters may land in your junk or spam folder. To prevent this, kindly add newsletters@creamermedia.co.za to your address book or safe sender list. If you experience any issues with the receipt of our email newsletters, please email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za