Issued by: Ministry of Safety and Security
MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF SAFETY AND SECURITY, SYDNEY MUFAMADI, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1995 IN PRETORIA
Members of the media, today, I am officially announcing the appointment of a Secretary for Safety and Security, Mr Azhar Cachalia, which was approved by Cabinet yesterday.
The appointment is in accordance with powers vested upon me in terms of the Police Act of 1995, which came into effect on Sunday, October15, 1995. The appointment is at the level of Superintendent-General.
The Secretary shall be th head of the Secretariat for Safety and security. He will be responsible for establishing this Secretariat, and it is envisaged that it will be in place by early next year.
In our draft document, we explicitly stated that: "The existing military culture of the police hampers the development of true professionalism which focuses on serving the community." We are therefore committed to upholding and protecting fundamental rights of all people, impartiality, honesty, transparency and accountability in fulfilling our mission and vision of a new police service.
By creating a separation between the operational responsibilities of the police, and policy formulation functions of the Minister supported by a Secretariat, which will be staffed by civilians the ideal of democratic accountability and civilian oversight will be given efficacy.
The Secretariat will effectively act as a check and balance over the operational component, while at the same time empowering and supporting the police in the performance of their functions.
By removing the police from the realm of political activity, their independence and integrity will be re-built and enhanced.
The Police Act also empowers Provincial Governments to establish similar structures in the provinces. The Secretariat at national level will have to work closely with these provincial structures in order to ensure national co-ordination around policy issues.
The Secretariat for Safety and Security will inter alia:
It will be vital that these functions are performed in close co-operation with the police service. I have every confidence that the National Commissioner and the Secretary for Safety and Security will work effectively together.
The establishment of the Secretariat is an important step towards a more accountable and transparent police service.
I am sure that this development will also contribute to more effective policing in South Africa and ultimately, to improved levels of Safety and Security in the country.
It also gives me pleasure to introduce our recently appointed Ministerial Spokesperson, Mulalo Maxwell Mulaudzi.
His appointment will undoubtedly improve communication between my office and the media and also contribute to public awareness of the work of my department.
Finally, I congratulate Azhar and Maxwell on their appointment.