Issued by: Ministry for Safety and Security
MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY, SYDNEY MUFAMADI, DECEMBER 14, 1995, UNION BUILDING, PRETORIA
I am delighted to announce today that the national office of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) has allocated R250 million to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for the financial year 1995/1996.
This signifies the importance the Government of National Unity attaches to fighting crime and developing effective and appropriate policing methods for our country.
As the current SAPS budget does not accommodate some of our transformation needs, it became necessary for us to submit a request for assistance to the RDP office to meet our set objective - to deliver an effective community policing service to the community.
This allocation to the SAPS is based on a business plan submitted to the RDP office.
The SAPS identified five interrelated programmes which are supportive of the transformation process in the police service.
The five identified programmes are the following:
We will require the input of provincial governments, other departments and members of the community to turn these broad programmes into concrete projects on the ground.
This process is already underway and the MEC's have assisted us in identifying the first batch of police stations to be built and to be upgraded. Pilot projects in community policing and victim support will commence in the new year.
This allocation from the RDP Fund should not be seen as a Christmas present to the police service - it is an allocation which is aimed to assist us with the transformation of policing in South Africa, and to enable the SAPS to tackle crime more effectively.
In the future, we expect the entire police budget to reflect the priorities which emerge from the new environment.