Senzo Mchunu, Minister of Water and Sanitation, has been appointed as Police Minister, replacing Bheki Cele, while the new deputies are Polly Boshielo and Cassel Mathale.

Mchunu was formerly the Minister of Public Service and Administration from 30 May 2019 to 5 August 2021 and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal from 22 August 2013 until 23 May 2016.

A teacher by training, Mchunu was the inaugural Provincial Secretary of the ANC’s branch in KwaZulu-Natal after its establishment in 1994, and he was first elected to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature in 1997. While still in the legislature, he returned to the ANC Provincial Secretary position from 2005 until May 2009, when he was appointed Member of the Executive Council for Education in Zweli Mkhize’s provincial government. In 2013, he succeeded Mkhize both as ANC Provincial Chairperson and as Premier of KwaZulu-Natal. He was ousted from the party office in November 2015 in a bitter contest with Sihle Zikalala, and in May 2016 the ANC compelled him to resign from the Premier’s office.

Formerly an ally of President Jacob Zuma, Mchunu was politically aligned to Ramaphosa by 2016. In 2017 he won election to the ANC National Executive Committee and he subsequently served a brief stint as head of organising at Luthuli House, the ANC’s national headquarters, until he was appointed to Ramaphosa’s cabinet after the 2019 general election. He was re-elected to a second five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee in December 2022.

In August 2021, Ramaphosa announced a cabinet reshuffle in which Mchunu was moved to the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, newly split from the former Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.

Commenting on Mchunu’s appointment, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) said, “we had expected Senzo Mchunu to retain his position as Minister of Water and Sanitation, as he was doing good work to rectify many problems related to poor performance by his predecessors. Nonetheless, we believe he may be a good fit to assist with the professionalising of the police and to address the lack of leadership that has pervaded the police over many years. We urge the new minister, Pemmy Majodina, to continue the good work that has been done in Water and Sanitation, as we have a water crisis in the country with regards to service delivery and pollution.”

Crime expert Yusuf Abramjee said Mchunu is known to be hardworking “and let’s hope he will do what it takes to make South Africa safe. It’s important for the political head to lead the way and bring stability in the SA Police Service – and boost morale of the men and women in blue.”

Cele was Police Minister from February 2018 and is one of those not returning to Parliament alongside several other ANC members, including International Relations Minister Dr Naledi Pandor, Defence Minister Thandi Modise and Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu.

Cele’s career has spanned notable roles, including National Police Commissioner from 2010 to 2011, until his suspension due to misconduct allegations. Controversy has followed Cele through incidents like his ‘shoot to kill’ remarks, and he has been criticised for failing to reduce chronically high crime levels.

Ferial Haffajee, writing for Daily Maverick, stated that, “it’s a pity that Senzo Mchunu has been moved to the Ministry of Police because he has been an excellent water affairs and sanitation minister. But with a technocratic bent, he could begin to get a handle on runaway crime which years of bloviating by Bheki Cele failed to dent.”

The appointment of two deputies for police — Polly Boshielo and Cassel Mathale — is questionable because the police need less political interference in crime-fighting, not more, she added.

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Shortly after 11pm, a crowd had gathered at Hammarsdale Mall, alarming residents and local crime-fighting organisations.

However, Hammarsdale CPF public relations officer, Etienne Olivier said the South African Police Service (SAPS), private security companies and other law enforcement units had the situation under control and continued to patrol the area during the night.

Police and private security companies feared a repeat of the 2021 July riots when former president Jacob Zuma’s supporters went on a rampage when he was incarcerated. Zuma and supporters of his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe Party are disgruntled over the election results and have accused the Independent Electoral Commission of rigging the numbers.

Ahead of the announcement of the results, the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster warned it was ready to deal with any threats of instability.

“As the Security Cluster, we assure South Africans that law enforcement agencies stand ready to maintain peace and stability, as they have done throughout the election period.

“Any attempt to undermine the authority of the State and South Africa’s constitutional order will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly,” said police minister Bheki Cele.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said no one was exempt from the law.

“Anybody who threatens the security or the stability of the country, anybody who wants to undermine the constitutional order of the country, irrespective of who they are, the law enforcement will have to deal with them.”

Meanwhile a man, who allegedly shot dead two CPF members in Inanda, north of Durban, was killed in a shootout with police on Monday morning.

The man allegedly opened fire on officers when he was cornered.

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Addressing a media briefing on the successes of Operation Shanela in Pretoria on Monday morning, Cele said Community Policing Forums, community patrollers as well as private security have been very active in their support and are playing a crucial role in the overall success of the operation.

Operation Shanela was launched in May last year in an effort to deal with crime in high-density areas.

To date 600 000 criminals, including wanted criminals, have been arrested. Over 71 000 operations have been conducted throughout the country.

Police have confiscated a number of illegal firearms, drugs, stolen vehicles and visited unlicensed establishments, among other things. Also as part of these operations, thousands of motorists have been nabbed for driving under the influence, theft out of motor vehicles, human trafficking and other crimes.

“Operation Shanela has and continues to be rolled out across the country, led by the Provincial Commissioners of each province,” Cele said.

Operations are intensified from Thursday up until the early hours of Monday. This is guided by crime pattern analysis which informed the police that most crimes are reported during these times.

“Each week we come together on a Monday morning to scan the country, discuss in depth the weekly crime picture and operational interventions on policable crimes,” he said.

He said, however, that while the SAPS remains at the forefront of Operation Shanela, the successes are as a result of collaborative efforts through integrated operations.

The police continue to collaborate and appreciate the role played by the SANDF, the National and Provincial Traffic Police and the Metro Police Departments, Municipal Traffic, the Department of Home Affairs, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and other government departments.

“The role of active citizen participation in the prevention and combating crime continues to gain momentum,” Cele.

The minister said the police will remain intentional in their approach to fight crime

Also present at the media briefing were crime analysts who each day provide commentary to South Africans and the world on the police’s ability to fulfill its constitutional mandate of preventing, investigating and combating crime.

The provincial police commissioners also attended and said that through Operation Shanela, crime in their provinces has drastically reduced.

Although they all facing different challenges in their provinces, the commissioners said they are working hard to get rid of criminal elements in their provinces.

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This includes deploying drones and helicopters, and supplying police with CCTV footage and access to their control room monitoring systems.

A meeting between private security role-players and police was held this week where police outlined their general elections security plan.

The plan, compiled by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), is based on a thorough threat and crime pattern analysis.

This includes police and voting stations, which have received threats of intimidation before Election Day, as well as areas prone to service delivery issues.

During a briefing on Sunday by the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster, police minister Bheki Cele refused to go into detail about the national security plan.

However, Cele did reveal that out of the 23700 voting stations across the country, 500 were identified as high-risk.

“We are putting our eyes firmly on those. We have worked with the Independent Electoral Commission, we have those (voting stations) that are giving us problems,” he said.

This week members of The Eyes and Ears Initiative (E2), a joint crime-fighting initiative between SAPS, Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) and the private security industry, were briefed on the general elections security plan.

BACSA executive project manager Fouché Burgers said about 350 members of the E2 initiative will assist police both before and after elections.

“We had meetings with the police, we have regular meetings with the police not just during election time. During elections, it’s not only the day of elections, it’s both before and after. We will focus on being better eyes and ears for police, with our geographically broadened footprint of the private security industry across the country, and of course with technology such as helicopters and cameras. We will feed the police with situational information, what’s happening on the ground constantly, to make sure they are able to respond quicker.”

Burgers emphasised private security would not be taking over police functions but merely assist on a supportive basis.

It is understood that at least 20 helicopters will be supplied and deployed by private security in Gauteng alone during the election period.

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The latest proposed (1) Draft Improper Conduct Enquiries Regulations in the Private Security Industry Regulation Act, 2001 (Act No. 56 of 2001) and the (2) Draft Regulations relating to security service providers rendering security service in the maritime industry are proposed by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) through the office of the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.

“In terms of Section 4(b) of the Act, the authority must take steps to achieve it objects with the means at its disposal and may, subject to the Act and any other law, for the purpose of achieving it objects enquire into and report to the Minister on any matter concerning the objects of the authority. The purpose of the regulations is to ensure an effective and efficient process of collecting fines following improper conduct hearings.  The Authority is in support of the proposed regulation,” PSiRa told ProtectionWeb.

Security Association of South African national administrator Tony Botes said Notice 2375, which deals specifically with registrations and de-registrations, contained a number of “contradictions, which could result in some constructive comments from us and other bodies and companies in the industry.”

“Notice 2376 deals with processes and documents related to prosecutions by PSIRA in respect of breaches of their Code of Conduct, but the majority of these are corrective and positive and will probably not be challenged.”

“Notice 2377 deals with maritime security within South African waters and ports and will not have that much of an impact, as most of these (such as foreign security officers, not registered with PSIRA) performing security work, sometimes with firearms,” he said.

The Association of Private Security Owners of South Africa (TAPSOSA) said it was unfortunate that the amendments did not include the regulations that dealt with the information that must be provided to private security users when procuring services.  

“The current uncertainty and industry self-determination on what consumers should request from providers of private security services results in the manipulation of tender processes and gatekeeping,” said spokesperson Sindisiwa Changuion.

She said Section 35 of the PSiRA Act permitted the Minister to pass the regulation that should be required by the users of security services.

“Compliance with PSiRA should be the only authority that should be required by users of security services. The current manipulation of the non-existence of regulation on requirements of procurement of private security services allows for gatekeeping and persecution amongst industry players,” said Changuion.

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The SA Police Service’s 2024/25 Annual Performance Plan, tabled two weeks ago, revealed that the force cannot keep up with the country’s growing population.

It said the SAPS has for a number of years faced the prospect of an ever-increasing population versus a steadily declining staff establishment.

The United Nations standard states that there should be one police officer for every 220 people in the country

“This has several negative effects on the organisation as it struggles to keep pace with the increasing demand for policing services, an increasing crime rate and the effects of an over-stretched policing capability.”

“As the population increased from an estimated 54 million in 2014, to 62 million in 2022, so the actual workforce that was deployed at the frontline to prevent, investigate and combat crime, uphold and enforce the law and protect and secure the people of the country and their property, declined from 152977, in 2014/15, to 140 048, in 2021/22,” the report said.

Government allocated additional funding to the tune of R8.7 billion during 2022/23 to “extend and rejuvenate SAPS’ staff establishment through the recruitment of 12000 additional personnel members.”

“Total expenditure is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 5.8 per cent, from R105.5 billion in 2023/24 to R124.8 billion in 2026/27, mainly to provide for the carry-through costs of the 2023/24 public sector wage agreement, the department is set to receive additional allocations amounting to R22 billion over the next three years.”

“The number of personnel is set to increase from 183708 in 2023/24 to 186538 in 2026/27. This will be done by appointing a targeted 10 000 police trainees in 2024/25 and absorbing them as constables upon their successful completion of training against which the natural attrition of employees should be discounted,” the report said.

The report revealed that the Detective Service was not immune to decreases in the workforce and increased workloads, as the number of docket-carrying detectives was reduced from 18963, as at 31 March 2022 to 17614 as at 31 March 2023.

“Despite reductions in the number of detectives and the increasing case load, the detection rate has remained relatively consistent, over the period 2019/20 to 2022/23.”

Police minister Bheki Cele said an additional 10000 recruits will be recruited to supplement the SAPS at the end of this year.

“This is a step in the right direction for turning the tide on crime, as it will ensure that there are more boots on the ground, which will assist in properly capacitating frontline officers such as police stations.”

“Our plan is to ensure that police officers don’t sit behind desks in these police stations, but work hand-in-hand with communities and bring criminals to their knees,” he said.

Cele said the SAPS will continue purchasing drones to enhance policing efforts, with drone pilots also being licensed and efforts to recruit drone pilot interns being prioritised. “Body-worn cameras, closed-circuit television (CCTV) as well as automatic number plate recognition systems are also receiving priority.”

The Top 30 crime-heavy stations have been prioritised for resourcing and new technology to address murder and other contact crimes, and over and above this, funding has been set aside for the increase in the capability and training of the Public Order Police (POP) and the Tactical Response Teams (TRT)”

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Speaking in Pretoria on Sunday on the Police Take Down Successes of Police Counter Operations, Police Minister Bheki Cele said police on the ground were pushing back on crime through high-density operations in identified high-crime areas across the country through Operation Shanela.

“Over 500000 suspected criminals have been removed from society and brought before the courts to answer for their alleged crimes.”

“Officers in all nine provinces, led by the respective provincial commissioners, have conducted almost 69468 high-density crime prevention and combating operations in the last 11 months,” he said.

The countrywide high-density operations resulted in the arrest of 8563 suspected rapists and 6045 murder suspects.

“A total of 4410 suspects have been arrested for attempted murder. Police officers have arrested 63573 assault GBH [grievous bodily harm] suspects and 37333 suspects accused of common assault.”

“A total of 41191 suspects have been arrested for the Contravention of the Immigration Act and were found to be in the country illegally, while 16073 drunk drivers were taken off our roads and arrested through various roadblocks and stop-and-searches during simultaneous countrywide operation,” said Cele.

He said 2819 illegal miners involved in illicit mining were arrested.

“Under operation ‘Vala umgodi’, a multidisciplinary operation involving various government departments such as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, 3298 illegal miners were arrested.”

Cele said 1028 hijacking suspects were arrested over the past 11 months and 3670 suspects were nabbed and faced business burglary charges, while a further 10743 suspects were arrested for breaking and entering into houses.  

“Working jointly with local, provincial and national traffic police and other sister departments, the focus of Operation Shanela remains the prevention of crime,” added Cele.

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