The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) have criticized Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s budget vote, stating that it lacks crucial strategies for preventing and combating crime.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu presented his department’s budget proposal and strategic plans during a parliamentary session on Tuesday. The budget for the 2024/2025 fiscal year includes R113 billion for the police, R155 million for the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service, and R370 million for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
Mchunu highlighted the recruitment of 10,000 police officers as a key priority for the upcoming year. He underscored the focus on reducing violent crimes, gender-based violence, and femicide through enhanced crime prevention measures.
“We aim to decrease the incidence of reported contact crimes by 14.5% over the medium term. Moreover, we anticipate the detection rate for contact crimes against women to rise above 71%, and for contact crimes against children to surpass 65%,” he stated.
He mentioned that these initiatives will be implemented through the detective services program, which has been allotted R71.3 billion.
“The visible policing program, constituting at least 52% of the total budget allocation, will receive R189.7 billion over the medium term.”
Mchunu announced plans to modernize police stations by upgrading their information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, enhancing connectivity, and deploying mobile technologies.
“A budget of R2.84 billion has been allocated for the 2024/25 financial year for these upgrades under the administration programme.”
He highlighted that the Detective Services programme and the Crime Intelligence programme have budgets of R71.3 billion and R15.1 billion respectively over the medium term. These funds are intended to address issues such as illegal mining, crimes related to infrastructure, and extortion across various sectors, notably the construction industry.
Mchunu emphasized that departmental spending in the medium term will prioritize key programs, including Visible Policing, which comprises over 52% of the budget, the Detective Services programme, accounting for more than 20%, and personnel-related costs, which constitute over 80% of the annual budget.
EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi criticized Mchunu’s budget proposal, accusing it of lacking a clear focus on crime prevention.
“During the last fiscal year, approximately 27,500 people were killed under what are supposed to be peaceful conditions. In comparison, in Gaza, a region plagued by war and genocide, 38,000 people were killed. This stark comparison underscores our failure to effectively combat crime,” Ndlozi stated.
“Among the top 30 police stations with the highest crime rates over the past two decades, the same locations consistently appear. This indicates a critical need for a proactive strategy to prevent crime.”
Ndlozi also pointed out that over 42,000 rape cases were reported in the previous year. He alleged that some police officers turn a blind eye to known gangsters and drug dealers.
“Many of these criminals operate with impunity, with some even using police vehicles to transport drugs without fear of detection. This highlights a serious failure within our law enforcement system,” Ndlozi added.
Meanwhile, MK Party MP David Skosana voiced opposition to Mchunu’s budget, arguing that it fails to address significant challenges within the Detective Services and Crime Intelligence Division.
Skosana expressed concern over the inadequate regulation of firearms and the slow implementation of community-oriented policing strategies.
“The police’s persistent underperformance in reducing contact crimes, violence against women and children, and the increasing incidents of human trafficking must be urgently addressed,” Skosana emphasized.
