Dear Editor
By refusing to prioritise the final report of the Claassen Board of Inquiry into fitness to hold office of suspended National Police Commissioner, Riah Phiyega, the President is contributing to instability in our police service and jeopardising prospects for more effective policing.
Media reports indicate that the report was finalised on 13 November 2016 but, over three weeks later, the President is yet to set aside a time to receive it. His failure to set aside the time to receive the report explains the statement from his office this morning which states that “The Presidency has not yet received the report into the position of National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega and will thus not comment on the alleged contents of the report which was released by a weekend newspaper”.
The refusal by the President to prioritise this report is both inexplicable and unacceptable.
SAPS leadership and the citizens of South Africa must be assured that stability will be restored in the police service and that if Phiyega is removed from office, her replacement is found urgently.
Therefore the DA calls on President Jacob Zuma to treat the finalised report, which allegedly finds the Phiyega is not fit for office, with the urgency it deserves. Failure to do so borders on dereliction of duty and places the stability of the SAPS at risk, thus undermining the crime-fighting agenda.
A report that deals directly with Phiyega’s fitness to hold office after she presided over the massacre of 34 miners at Marikana, is of the utmost importance and should be treated as such.
It is in the interests of all South Africans that our police service is led by experienced and competent senior management with integrity, who can focus to ensure the safety of all South Africans.
The DA has welcomed the alleged findings of the report that Phiyega is not fit for office. We have long held this view. Phiyega presided over a persistent and chronic decline of the SAPS, who are mandated to keeping ordinary South Africans safe and secure in their homes, workplaces and on the streets.
As such, we look forward to finalising and closing this chapter urgently, in the interests of stabilising the country’s police service and so that the SAPS can focus all their energy on keeping South Africans safe.
Regards
Zakhele Mbhele MP
DA Shadow Minister of Police
