Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini has been appointed acting minister of police, the department confirmed in a statement.

Dlamini will act in the role of police minister from July 3 to July 7, 2017 while Police Minister Fikile Mbalula attends the Interpol congress in Singapore.

“Minister Fikile Mbalula, MP, has a rare honour to be invited to the international Criminal Police Organisation [Interpol] congress to set the agenda and tone on how the global body should respond to the scourge of cybercrime and other related crimes,” police ministry spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga said in a press statement.

Mhaga further explained that the the task could not be placed on the deputy minister as he is not part of the executive.

"Remember deputies don’t act on behalf of ministers; they are not executives. It's only ministers that are executives. Anywhere if you just check the track record there is no deputy minister that has ever acted at their office. If one minister leaves, another minister is then called upon to go and act," he told Sowetan LIVE.