Issued by: Office of the Deputy President TM Mbeki
The Office of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki rejects calls by police unions for the deputy president to clarify his statements regarding the killings of police officers.
The Unions should understand that from the position he holds, the Deputy President is privy to sensitive information that enables him to make such a statement.
The Deputy President has the fullest confidence in the majority of police officers who toil to ensure the safety and security of the citizenry. In this regard, the Deputy President recently paid homage to those police officers who paid the supreme price in the course of duty.
However, the Deputy President recognises that in the process of transformation of the police service substantial progress has been made. yet the deputy president realises that more still needs to be done to weed out corrupt elements within the police service whose conduct has subtracted rather than added to the improving image of the police services.
Instead of being defensive, the office of Deputy President calls on all concerned to join the deputy president in his current crusade to rid our society of the scourge of moral degeneration that leads to corruption and crime.
In this context, the office of the deputy president condemns the recent spate of robberies of cash-in-transit including a robbery at a primary school and expresses its hope that those responsible will face the full might of law.
For more information call Ronnie Mamoepa at 082-990-4853
Issued by Office of Deputy President TM Mbeki
Communication Division, P/Bag X955, Pretoria, 0001
11 May 1999