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Mkhwanazi says he’s happy ‘buying office furniture’

SURPRISE: Acting national commissioner of the SA Police Service Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Sibusiso Mkhwanazi failed to turn up at a meeting in Umlazi yesterday. PHOTO: Simon Mathebula
SURPRISE: Acting national commissioner of the SA Police Service Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Sibusiso Mkhwanazi failed to turn up at a meeting in Umlazi yesterday. PHOTO: Simon Mathebula

Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on Monday said the public should know that he hasn’t been “discarded”‚ isn’t “currently sitting at home” and is actually “very happy in my current role”.

This follows a report in the Sunday Times which said that just days ahead of a “deadline for national police commissioner Riah Phiyega to convince President Jacob Zuma that she should continue to lead the police‚ senior ranking men in blue have turned against her”.

The story alleged that police top brass were aggrieved at Phiyega’s “approach to management” which “was to discard all the old hands”.

Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi‚ the paper said‚ had been demoted by Phiyega‚ who “made him a building facilities manager”‚ a deployment he was reported to be “refusing”.

Mkhwanazi on Monday said it was “a pity that the newspaper wrote these allegations without first checking with me”‚ adding that his current designation was actually “Divisional Commissioner: Facilities Management”.

“It is a huge opportunity for me as it allows me to further develop my managerial skills. I’m managing a R4‚3-billion budget‚” Mkhwanazi said in a statement.

“What the media and the public are not aware of is being a manager in the police is similar to being a manager in any other organisation in the sense that you have to manage processes‚ people and budgets and other complex issues.”

Mkhwanazi acknowledged problems with the “current infrastructure of the police”‚ but said he was actively involved in Phiyega’s “massive project called Frontline Service Delivery” (FSD)‚ which was aimed reversing “public dissatisfaction with our service”.

“My role within the FSD is to make sure that we upgrade physical and technology infrastructure at police stations and buy office furniture for our people‚” said Mkhwanazi.

He said the comments “regarding me being unhappy come from people who are resisting the positive change that is taking place within SAPS”.

 “Unfortunately a few don’t see things that way and are doing everything possible to frustrate the transformation of SAPS for the better. I fail to understand why people would oppose refurbishing police stations and entering into agreements with landlords which are favourable to SAPS or buying our own buildings instead of paying humongous rentals.”

 

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