President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended Police Minister Bheki Cele as opposition parties called for his head in Parliament.
This was after the president announced his Cabinet reshuffle early this week where Cele kept his job.
Ramaphosa said Cele had been hard at work and identified some of the problems being attended to including the hiring of 10 000 officers last year and another 10 000 this year.
The president, who was answering questions in Parliament, accused DA leader John Steenhuisen of politicising crime in the country.
This was after Ramaphosa had shot down suggestions from the opposition for the devolution of policing powers.
He said the police would continue to be controlled at national level as directed by the law and the Constitution.
Steenhuisen said crime was out of control with over 82 people being killed every day and women and children raped.
He also said Cele was failing in his work.
“Honourable Steenhuisen, I am pained as you about the death of anybody. The pain I feel is the pain you feel. One of the things that this minister you want dismissed (for) now, it is this minister who raised the issue of a skewed ratio between the police officers and the population. He raised it in Cabinet, you are not in Cabinet,” said Ramaphosa in his defence of Cele.
Ramaphosa said it was after Cele’s intervention that they hired 10 000 police officers last year and another 10 000 this year to crack down on crime.
He added that Cele had also called for the specialised units to fight gender-based violence, cash-in-transit heists, illegal mining and construction Mafia.
Ramaphosa said Steenhuisen was playing to the gallery and politicising crime.
“I guess it is easy for the leader of the opposition to politicise the issue of crime in our country. In a way it sounds like this is an electioneering type of speech. We take the issue of crime very seriously. To this end we have taken steps to address criminality and gender-based violence. One of the things is that we increase visible policing and strengthen community policing forums. In the two State of the Nation Addresses we promised to increase the number of police. Already with the 10 000 that we had been training and joined our police, we believe visible policing will be improved. This year they will be employing more police as I said in the Sona,” said Ramaphosa.
He added that police were working hard to reduce crime in the country.
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