Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has welcomed the appointment of two Deputy National Police Commissioners as a step towards ensuring a clean-up of administration.
The recently-appointed National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole announced the appointment of Lieutenant Generals Lebeoana Tsumane and Francinah Ntombenhle Vuma as Deputy National Commissioners on Friday.
“I welcome the appointment of Lieutenant General Lebeoana Tsumane as Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection. I have long called for this very important vacancy to be filled so that our new thrust of having a crime intelligence-led approach to fighting crime can be realised,” said Minister Mbalula said in a statement on Saturday.
Lieutenant General Tsumane’s appointment is expected to stabilise the top management of the police and ensure challenges in key sections such as crime intelligence, forensic services and detectives are addressed.
Prior to Lieutenant General Tsumane’s appointment, he had been serving as the Provincial Commissioner of the Free State since 1 November 2016.
Minister Mbalula said the appointment of a new management advisory services Deputy National Commissioner - Lieutenant General Vuma - was critical to bringing about clean governance.
“This position is akin to the Chief Operations Officer for the department. This is a critical post in the management of SAPS and responds directly to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and bodes well for the changes afoot towards getting SAPS management up to the task and addressing the issues raised by the Auditor General for the year 2016/2017.”
Through Lieutenant General Vuma’s in depth knowledge of SAPS, Minister Mbalula foresees his short term vision of a clean audit outcome in reach.
“General Vuma’s appointment is also be seen as a key issue of women empowerment,” Minister Mbalula added.
Lieutenant General Vuma previously served as the Component Head of Operational Support under the Division of Protection and Security Services, a post she assumed this year.
Regionalisation of SAPS
General Sitole has been instructed, with the help of his deputies, to prioritise the regionalisation of specific provinces like Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
Regionalisation implies the sectioning of provinces into strategic pieces and each of these be led by a Lieutenant General. This is expected to trim head office costs and rationalise human resources.
“I want these regionalised in terms of top management wherein we will de-escalate resources down to the people on the ground” said Minister Mbalula.
“The focus must be on crime hotspots and crime weighing areas. In this strategy we anticipate that there shall be drastic crime levels reduction,” said the Minister.
In addition, General Sitole has been tasked with boosting the morale of SAPS officials and unite the service to serve South African better.
Festive season crime prevention
With the arrival of the festive season, the Police Ministry has set its crime prevention plan in motion.
“Abuse of alcohol is a heavy contributor on the country’s crime rates. Illegal weapons and abuse of illicit drugs are the three most present drivers of crime. To this end, President Zuma instructed a special committee of ministers to submit proposals to Cabinet on how to combat these challenges.
“I am encouraged by General Sitole’s attendance to these priorities and I look forward to working with Lieutenant Generals Vuma and Tsumane, we have no time to waste,” said Mbalula. – SAnews.gov.za
