Turning to other matters, Modise spoke at length about the state of the SA National Defence Force, saying there was a commitment to “restoring the integrity of the country’s safety and security machinery that has been eroded by a number of challenges and shortcomings”.
She said the SANDF stands ready to support law-enforcement agencies to deal with any threats to the security and stability of the country.
“In this regard, the SANDF will continue to be on standby to protect all national key points as well as economic corridors of the country from any disruption or blockages, either arising from protesting truck drivers or any disruptive elements,” she said.
Modise said they were addressing the capacity and resources issues within the security and justice system to ensure the security sector meets the demands of the country.
Modise said the ministry of justice and correctional services has established two specialised commercial crime courts (SCCCs) in Mthatha and East London in the Eastern Cape to bolster efforts to fight against corruption.
“Two more SCCCs in Palm Ridge and Pretoria North in Gauteng have also been enhanced to deal swiftly with corruption. To date, SCCCs have been established in provinces where they did not exist before, namely Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West.”
She said nationwide recruitment will increase the strength of SAPS in its mandate to prevent and fight crime in communities.
“We will continually assess the capacity levels within SAPS and recruit accordingly to ensure that we increase the strength of the police from 180,000 officers to service the county’s population of more than 60-million people.
Furthermore, Modise said units like the Public Order Police, the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigating Unit, front line at police stations as well as detectives division, will be beefed up with the appointment of new trainees.
She said ministers are also re-evaluating and assessing the capacity and strength of the intelligence services to undertake surveillance and monitoring of stability in the country.
“The report of the expert panel on the 2021 July unrest pointed out shortcomings in this area of work. The state Security Agency (SSA) and Crime Intelligence will ensure that critical posts are filled, which were left vacant by suspensions, resignations, promotions and deaths.
There is a 46% improvement in the filling of vacancies between 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years. The vacancies at foreign stations have also decreased significantly,” she said.
She said a forensic investigation was initiated and a forensic investigation firm has been appointed to conduct an investigation into all malfeasance in the agency.
Modise said the agency has already dismissed about four members recently who have been found guilty of fraud and corruption.
She said the agencies have issued 55 high priority financial intelligence reports that have been used to identify high-priority investigations.
Modise also expressed concerns about the low level of trust between the law-enforcement agencies and the public.
Acknowledging the deaths of officers in the line of duty, she said in the last three months of 2021, 27 police officers were killed.
TimesLIVE
Thandi Modise: 'SA hasn't officially been told of citizens requesting evacuation from Russia or Ukraine'
Image: Supplied
SA has not been informed of its citizens requiring evacuation from either Russia or Ukraine, defence and military veterans minister Thandi Modise said on Sunday.
Asked about this in a media briefing by the ministers of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster in Pretoria, Modise insisted SA believed in “dialogue” to end the conflict.
“We have not officially been told that South Africans wish to be evacuated either from Ukraine or from Russia. SA believes in dialogue and we are hoping that dialogue will actually be followed in this situation. If and when the need arises we will inform ,” said Modise.
The Sunday Times reported on Sunday that President Cyril Ramaphosa was said to be unhappy about the department of international relations & co-operation (Dirco) this week calling for Russia to withdraw its armed forces from Ukraine.
Ramaphosa was believed to be “unhappy” at the strongly worded statement, with sources close to him saying it “contradicts” SA’s position on the Ukraine issue.
A highly-placed insider in the Union Buildings, who asked not to be named, told the Sunday Times: “The president did not see the statement before it was issued and he does not agree with it. There are people within Dirco with an agenda that we must be enemies with Russia.”
SA's initial statement called for mediation and dialogue to resolve the crisis. But on Thursday, amid a public uproar over SA's “soft” stance, a second stronger statement called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his forces from Ukraine.
Oscar Mabuyane supports calls for a peaceful resolution to Russia-Ukraine war
Turning to other matters, Modise spoke at length about the state of the SA National Defence Force, saying there was a commitment to “restoring the integrity of the country’s safety and security machinery that has been eroded by a number of challenges and shortcomings”.
She said the SANDF stands ready to support law-enforcement agencies to deal with any threats to the security and stability of the country.
“In this regard, the SANDF will continue to be on standby to protect all national key points as well as economic corridors of the country from any disruption or blockages, either arising from protesting truck drivers or any disruptive elements,” she said.
Modise said they were addressing the capacity and resources issues within the security and justice system to ensure the security sector meets the demands of the country.
Modise said the ministry of justice and correctional services has established two specialised commercial crime courts (SCCCs) in Mthatha and East London in the Eastern Cape to bolster efforts to fight against corruption.
“Two more SCCCs in Palm Ridge and Pretoria North in Gauteng have also been enhanced to deal swiftly with corruption. To date, SCCCs have been established in provinces where they did not exist before, namely Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West.”
She said nationwide recruitment will increase the strength of SAPS in its mandate to prevent and fight crime in communities.
“We will continually assess the capacity levels within SAPS and recruit accordingly to ensure that we increase the strength of the police from 180,000 officers to service the county’s population of more than 60-million people.
Furthermore, Modise said units like the Public Order Police, the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigating Unit, front line at police stations as well as detectives division, will be beefed up with the appointment of new trainees.
She said ministers are also re-evaluating and assessing the capacity and strength of the intelligence services to undertake surveillance and monitoring of stability in the country.
“The report of the expert panel on the 2021 July unrest pointed out shortcomings in this area of work. The state Security Agency (SSA) and Crime Intelligence will ensure that critical posts are filled, which were left vacant by suspensions, resignations, promotions and deaths.
There is a 46% improvement in the filling of vacancies between 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years. The vacancies at foreign stations have also decreased significantly,” she said.
She said a forensic investigation was initiated and a forensic investigation firm has been appointed to conduct an investigation into all malfeasance in the agency.
Modise said the agency has already dismissed about four members recently who have been found guilty of fraud and corruption.
She said the agencies have issued 55 high priority financial intelligence reports that have been used to identify high-priority investigations.
Modise also expressed concerns about the low level of trust between the law-enforcement agencies and the public.
Acknowledging the deaths of officers in the line of duty, she said in the last three months of 2021, 27 police officers were killed.
TimesLIVE
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