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Thank you Programme Director
* President of Popcru, Mr Thulani Ngwenya
* The General Secretary of POPCRU, Mr Jeffrey Dladla
* All members of the Central Executive Committee
* All members of POPCRU and the CEC delegates
* SSSBC delegates
* Members of the SAPS, Correctional Services and traffic component present
* Labour Unions organisations present
* All stakeholders present
* Distinguished guests
* Ladies and Gentlemen
Greetings to all of you!
It is a great pleasure and honour for me to address this significant gathering, the Central Executive Committee (CEC), which serves to shape the organisation and to assess the progress of work made by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU).
Firstly, let me congratulate POPCRU for being in existence and remaining relevant in the South African Police Service (SAPS) and labour sector for 34 years; this is indeed a great milestone. Different unions were formed and collapsed within a short space of time, without realising their vision and mission. But this union continued with its business and ensured that, it attains the objectives of its own constitution, by advancing their mission and vision through a way of representing the interest of workers. The SAPS would like to salute you for the effort and professionalism of keeping the fire burning in the organisation. Maybe, you should give yourself a round of applause for that!
Programme Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you to wish the leadership of POPCRU a fruitful and successful CEC meeting. I also stand to repledge our support and willingness as the SAPS management to continue to work closely with yourselves to ensure our members’ best interests are always considered. You have really been the mouthpiece of our members and always prioritise their needs; and we recognise, acknowledge and applaud you for that.
Let me take this moment to appreciate the transformation made by POPCRU in the collective bargaining council , the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC) and the entire SAPS by ensuring that, there is always consensus in any form of deliberation between the parties and its strive to find amicable solutions in resolving dispute like grievances and others.
Furthermore, I would like to applaud parties to the council in ensuring that, they find each other in proposals to amend or review the SAPS disciplinary regulation 2016. I believe this will yield positive results to all parties in terms of decision making on a method of dispute resolution mechanism.
With the lapse of Agreement 1/2020, SAPS has embarked on developing a new structure in line with Government’s 7th Administration. Which is now in the process of being tabled at the SSSBC for consultation. I am looking forward to your indulgence and conclusion on this matter as prior engagements between us as Principals has already taken place.
Let me also use this moment to reflect on issues of austerity measures under the financial division of the SAPS. It is a common cause that SAPS budget is allocated by the National Treasury, and we operate within the regulatory framework that guides the utilisation of funds. Therefore, at this current stage the organisation is trying its best to ensure that with the little funds allocated, resources are allocated where necessary in terms of the organisation strategic plan and the demand of services.
In maximizing the resources in the organisation, critical areas such as access to housing and shortage of detectives within the service remains a priority.
* Access to housing hampers the effective deployment of police officers, and I will provide an update on this matter shortly.
* Shortage of detectives within the service remains a priority which must be urgently addressed – aside from the increase in human resource, the aspect of attracting and retaining skilled employees in this environment is of serious concern. Options to address this matter will be explored as a matter of urgency which may include the introduction of a detective allowance.
POPCRU President, Mr Ngwenya, I would like to take this moment to highlight some of the important strides we have made as the SAPS in a bid to improve the lives of our members. Following our engagements with various stakeholders, including POPCRU, we have made critical and potential life-changing decisions to the benefit of our members.
* We have finalised the transition of 10111 employees from Public Service Act (PSA) to SAPS Act.
* We have agreed to finalise the promotions policy this financial year.
* We are working towards opening level seven to 12 promotions posts of PSA for the benefit of our members
* We are researching the best model for accommodation and housing benefits for SAPS Act members. I have appointed a committee to handle this; and
* We have agreed to amend disciplinary regulations. We are currently working on a draft and as soon as it’s finalised, we will give it to our Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu for his consideration.
We really hope the decisions we have made will better the lives of our members, increase productivity and wellbeing in the workplace, as well as attract and retain skilled people in the SAPS.
At this juncture I am reminded of a quote by an American philanthropist by the name James Cash Penney who once said: “The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.”
President Ngwenya, it goes without saying that although you and I work independently, we are nonetheless both committed to finding and implementing measures to better the lives of our common members.
It is worth noting that my office is open and available for engagement in addressing the issue of conditions of services to ensure that our employees are safe, protected and live a better life. They will always get support from us as the management of the SAPS.
I am pleased to see the unity amongst yourselves as men and women in POPCRU, and I would like to encourage you to advance it in fighting gender-based violence and femicide in our country as this remain to be a disgrace to our society.
In closing, I wish you a successful CEC. May the organisation continue to do the good work of transforming the SAPS and change the life of workers in general.
I thank you!
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