“The report confirms beyond doubt that the ANC government has turned the police service into a lawless and dysfunctional bureaucracy,” the EFF said in a statement on 5 November.

“The Auditor-General’s findings expose a pattern of systematic dishonesty. SAPS leadership has resorted to manipulating and inflating performance data to create the false appearance of progress while communities are being terrorised by criminals every day. The report shows that in some cases, the police invented success rates that do not exist,” the party said.

For example, in one investigative programme, SAPS claimed that it had solved more than half of crimes at construction sites, when the real achievement was less than seven percent. In other instances, figures on recovered vehicles, firearms and crime reductions were found to be unreliable or exaggerated. “This is beyond an administrative mistake but it is the institutionalisation of lies, a betrayal of Parliament and the South African people.”

The rot is most visible in the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), which has completely failed in its constitutional duty to support justice, the EFF said. The backlogs in processing DNA and forensic exhibits have grown by more than half in one year, leaving thousands of criminal cases unresolved. For three consecutive years, this division has not met a single one of its targets, meaning victims of murder, rape and assault are being denied justice because evidence sits unprocessed on laboratory shelves. The police leadership hides behind excuses of staff shortages while spending almost eighty percent of its R113 billion budget on salaries, most of which go to administration, not to forensic or investigative work.

The report also reveals that SAPS spent every cent of its budget, yet the streets of South Africa remain a war zone, the EFF continued. “This full expenditure is not a sign of efficiency, but of a desperate effort to drain public money before the end of the financial year without delivering anything of value. Billions are wasted on salaries and internal overheads while police stations crumble, forensic systems collapse, and communities wait hours for help that never comes. This is the ANC’s definition of service delivery: spending without substance, paperwork without protection, and budgets without outcomes.”

Corruption has become normalised as irregular expenditure increased to nearly R3 Billion with no real disciplinary consequences or financial recovery, including those tenders given out to criminal kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, the EFF noted. Out of over R900 million in identified cases, most remain under investigation, meaning the same officials responsible for financial mismanagement continue to hold office. Civil claims against SAPS have also exploded, with over R25 billion in new claims and more than R800 million paid out in the last year alone, mostly for unlawful arrests and detentions.

“The culture of impunity runs deep. Out of almost 4 000 disciplinary cases, nearly half ended with no punishment and either withdrawn or resulting in ‘not guilty’ outcomes. Additionally, only 10% of guilty officers were dismissed, the rest merely received written warnings, proving that corruption, misconduct and brutality are tolerated within SAPS.

“This is the same organisation that lost 8 452 of its own firearms in one year, almost 23 every day, many of which end up in the hands of the same criminals police claim to be fighting. The leadership continues to treat such staggering failures as success because targets are set so low that mediocrity passes as achievement.

“The report also reveals a disturbing failure to protect women and children. Crimes against women and children have increased, yet the SAPS failed to include measurable targets for gender-based violence in its annual plan. This indifference shows contempt for the suffering of the most vulnerable in our society. The so-called action plans and steering committees are meaningless while women continue to be raped and murdered, and children are brutalised daily with no justice.

“The picture painted by this report is a picture of a criminal syndicate dressed in uniform. The ANC government has destroyed what little integrity remained in the SAPS and the SAPS 2024/25 Annual Report is a mirror reflecting a state that has decayed beyond recognition under ANC rule. It exposes a leadership incapable of protecting its people or upholding the Constitution, which has been illuminated by the current inquiries taking place through the Madlanga Commission and the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee into the disbandment of the Political Killings Task Team,” the EFF statement read.

“This is why the EFF championed the establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee on the infiltration of the SAPS, a critical intervention in Parliament we are leading with determination and clarity. Through this committee, we will resolve on final recommendations that will lay the foundation for a reformed, accountable, and corruption free police service that truly serves and protects the people of South Africa,” the party concluded.

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The EFF’s Carl Niehaus earlier this month condemned the “devastating events that unfolded at the University of Fort Hare, where a significant portion of the institution was reduced to ruins through what appears to be a deliberate and coordinated act of sabotage involving military grade incendiary devices.”

He said this was not an isolated incident but a “stark manifestation of the deepening crisis in our nation’s security apparatus and the failures of institutional leadership,” and questioned the origin of the incendiary devices and flares used in the protests.

“The EFF has for a long time now warned that the security at SANDF military bases where arms, and military equipment — such as was seen in use at Fort Hare — are stored has collapsed, and is in some instances non-existent, with perimeter fences in disrepair, or simply gone. Corruption is rife, and the selling and pilfering of military equipment at some bases are a regular occurrence.”

Recently, on 2 October at 6 South African Infantry (SAI) Battalion base in Makhanda (Grahamstown), also in the Eastern Cape, a mortar bomb blew up and killed a man who was trespassing. “He was evidently collecting easily accessible arms. This explosion came three years after a 33-year-old local man was injured after a hand grenade went off at the Carini squatter camp — a hand grenade that was also stolen from the very same military base,” Niehaus said. “Evidently the collapse of security and wanton corruption and collapse of the South African National Defence Force is now threatening our national security and internal stability.”

He said that what happened at Fort Hare University means South Africa’s intelligence structures will have to shape up drastically, and the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence will have to intensify oversight responsibilities and visits to military bases.

“The EFF reiterates that it is critical that the lack of security and collapse of security at military bases where arms and military hardware are being stored needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency,” the party said, and called for an immediate audit of all SANDF bases.

“Furthermore, the parliamentary oversight role of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans must be strengthened without delay. These bodies have been too passive, allowing bureaucratic inertia and political complacency to erode their effectiveness. The EFF proposes mandatory quarterly inspections, unannounced visits, and the inclusion of civil society representatives in oversight processes to ensure transparency and accountability.

“There must also be a concerted collaboration with intelligence structures in South Africa, including the State Security Agency and other relevant bodies, to intelligence-gather on arms trafficking networks. This partnership should extend to real-time monitoring and joint operations to secure military installations. Without such integrated efforts, we risk further escalations where our universities, hospitals, and public infrastructure become battlegrounds for shadowy forces,” Niehaus concluded.

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“The EFF government will approach crime fighting with the understanding that crime is a socio-economic issue, aiming to eradicate it by economically developing communities and providing quality jobs and careers to those involved in criminal activities.”

The EFF manifesto has detailed plans to strengthen the police. An EFF government aims to employ an additional 100 000 police officers by 2026 and purchase an additional 7 000 police vehicles by 2027, on the condition that 50% of all parts are made in South Africa. All broken police vehicles will be repaired by 2025. “The EFF government will ensure that there are police cars with police officers that are tactically trained in all off-ramps, on-ramps, regional boundaries, and provincial boundaries.”

Police officers will be rewarded with bonuses for apprehending dangerous criminals, be given higher salaries to improve morale and reduce corruption, be given a standby allowance for extra police presence, and be subjected to mandatory fitness assessments every 24 months, with those found unfit dismissed from their positions.

The EFF government will increase police visibility in all communities, including routine and regular visibility in informal settlements, townships, rural areas and urban areas. “The EFF government will, by 2029, establish satellite police stations that will be open 24 hours a day and seven days a week in every ward of the country where there currently is no police station. The EFF government will re-open police and satellite police stations in Marabastad, Zandspruit, Kocksoord, Azaadville, Morula Sun, Melville, Zithobeni, Thembelihle, Tshepisong, Slovopark, and Mathole in Gauteng by 2027. The EFF government will re-open police and satellite police stations in Siyathemba, Emjindini, Botleng, Tjakastad, Kwazamokuhle, Msogwaba, Daanjie, Hectorspuit, Lebohang, Badfontein, Dundonald, Phola, Thuthukani, Phungutsha, and Kamhlushwa in Mpumalanga by 2027.”

Other efforts to strengthen law enforcement include employing highly qualified detectives; analysing crime patterns and trends; ensuring that the loss of a docket leads to immediate dismissal; introducing a new police training curriculum; and strengthening the fight against gender-based violence by upskilling police officers, providing counselling services, and DNA kits.

“The EFF government will deploy a special task team to deal with gangsterism and drugs in places such as the Cape Flats in Cape Town, Eldorado, Westbury, Hillbrow, and Yeoville.” It will also engage in consistent roadblocks, including stop-and-search operations to fight the transportation of drugs, illegal firearms, retrieve stolen vehicles, apprehend wanted suspects, and identify drunk drivers, with a zero tolerance approach to drunk driving.

An EFF government will improve the capacity of crime intelligence to include the usage of technology to solve crimes, such as the installation of CCTV cameras with artificial intelligence and face recognition, and ensure that police have body cameras and vehicle dashboard cameras and radios.

“The EFF government will train, remunerate, supply uniforms, torches, and bulletproof vests to Community Policing Forums and municipal street patrollers across the country and encourage the formation of crime watch and street committees in crime hotspot communities and areas. The EFF government will give rewards to citizens who submit evidence depicting alleged criminal activities, including drug dealing, social crimes, and domestic violence.”

“The EFF government will enhance Police Foot Patrols in densely populated areas to improve visibility and strengthen community relationships. This approach aims to foster trust and cooperation between residents and the police, making officers more approachable and responsive to the specific needs of these communities.”

Other highlights from the EFF’s crime fighting portion of its manifesto include:
Racism shall be declared a punishable criminal offence.
The EFF government will introduce a specialized unit to deal with the problem of stock theft in rural and farming areas, as part of its massive drive for rural development.
The EFF government will increase the sentences for rhino poaching, perpetrators of gender-based violence, murders, rapists and anyone who defrauds the state.
The EFF government will ensure that all immigrants shall be registered and have their fingerprints captured by the new Department of Home Affairs and Internal Security.
The EFF government will establish a DNA database for all South Africans to fight crime.
The EFF government will introduce an annual day of joint operation between all law enforcement agencies (South African Police Services, South African National Defence Force, Intelligence and Immigration officers) to visit houses and conduct searches for illegal firearms.

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