| 2025/03/08 |
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Thank you Programme Director
Good Morning WATHINTA ABAFAZI, WATHINTA IMBOKODO HALALA WOMEN IN BLUE HALALA !! HALALA BASADI HALALA !! Allow me to extend my greetings, to all the women in blue gathered here this morning; in their beautiful African attires that brings so much colour and radiance in this wonderful celebration of International Women’s Day. A special word of welcome to our Deputy Minister of Police, Ms Polly Boshielo, the champion of women empowerment, an exemplary leader, who shared an inspiring story of her life journey at our Women’s Day celebration in August last year. Deputy Minister, the theme for this year is pushing us hard to ACCELERATE ACTION in the agenda for the advancement of women in the SAPS. DM, yesterday we had a closed session as female Lieutenant Generals in the police. We had robust but progressive discussions on this very important topic of women empowerment in the workplace. Lt General Hadebe will take us through the resolutions of the meeting when she presents the report later today. Programme Director there is something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness and the nerve to never take no for an answer. To all the women who are gathered here today, let us continue to take charge and lead with excellence in what people perceive as a “man’s world”. Tap each other on your shoulders and say: “You’re not only shaping your future but paving the way for others. We’re proud to have you on our team!” Today we are witnesses and active participants to the transformation of safety and security in South Africa. We have come a long way since the first women were accepted into the then South African Police over 50 years ago to perform administrative and so-called “soft” duties. Today women are taking their rightful place in our police and security services, and we are among them. Today, one of our deputy ministers is a female, we have two deputy National Commissioners in the police who are female, and I am proud to be one of them. Our Chief Financial Officer, Divisional Commissioner for Human Resource Development, Detective and Forensic Services, Visible Policing and Operations, and the Provincial Commissioners for Free State, Northern cape, Limpopo and until recently the Eastern Cape are all headed by women. It does not end there; we have thousands of competent and capable female employees in management positions in various environments of our organisation. We also have women in previously male dominated environments like the Special Task Force Unit (STF). In 2023, we produced one of the first STF female police officers in the history of the organisation. The said police officer, whose identity we continue to keep to our chest for security reasons, successfully completed the elite STF Selection Training Programme without any amendments made to suit females. She became one of only eleven members of the Selection 36 group who were bestowed with STF parachute wings in January 2023 by the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola after they completed their training. We also have hundreds of women serving as detectives, public order policing (POP); Tactical Response Teams (TRT) and even the National Intervention Unit (TRT). We also salute all those front-line police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe. I am also proud to share with you the statistics of our latest intake. According to these statistics, women make up a majority of police trainee. We have 2997 female trainees while their male counterpart are 2503. I am beaming with pride to be a member of an organisation that is making an effort to empower women. What an achievement! This is indeed progress and affirmation that women are taking up space, women are no longer waiting for a seat at the table, but they are bringing their folding and camping chairs and placing themselves at the top, through hard work and dedication. It is indeed my privilege and honour to set the tone for the celebration of International Women’s Day 2025. We thank each and every one of you for honouring our invitation to this important event. I am glad that you responded positively when we called you to come and participate in this important event that seeks to reflect on our work and plan ahead with Women Empowerment as the sole objective. As I conclude, I would like to wish all the women under the sound of my voice as well as all SAPS women countrywide a happy International Women’s Day. On this day, our hands are joined together. We are united and full of hope that one day we will realise our Women Empowerment Agenda and vision. THANK YOU! |
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