STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER

DR B.SIBUSISO DLAMINI

AT THE END OF YEAR POLICE CONFERENCE

AT THE POLICE COLLEGE, MATSAPHA

WEDNESDAY 16 DECEMBER 2015

Honourable Minister(s)

National Commissioner of Police and Executive Command

of the Royal Swaziland Police Service

Regional Administrators

Honourable Members of Parliament for the Prime

Minister's Office Portfolio Committee

Headteacher of Mhlatane High School

Senior Police Officers and Senior Members of Support Staff

Representatives of the Media

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

It is my pleasure to be with you all today at the 2015 Police Conference. More especially, of course, it is my duty, as Minister responsible for the Royal Swaziland Police, to attend this review of events and progress in the current year, and your strategising and target-setting session for the coming year.

Please reflect critically on your performance over the year that has gone by. Identify and understand what were the critical success factors, and do not let them disappear! Examine carefully the areas in which you felt performance was below expectation. No public agency can achieve perfection but it will always be considered mandatory that you to set in stone the lessons learned.

The Police Service, in common with other Ministries or Departments, have time-bound, quantified and measurable output targets, agreed with and monitored by the Policy and Programme Coordination Unit (PPCU) in my Office. This conference should not allow itself the temptation of self-congratulation and back-patting. Within this setting we need to be ruthlessly self-critical. From that, will spring improvement and a continuing rise in the quality of performance and the reputation of the Police in the eyes of the people of our country.

One very important piece of housekeeping in the conference is the review of what was said in this opening ceremony 12 months ago - the mantra “Siyavutsa Bhe Ngalokungakavami” - meaning that our Police would, metaphorically of course, be blazing hot. This did not mean that they would barge their way into every incident, but reflected a commitment to energetic and determined crime prevention and detection work. No cold cases for the filing cabinet! Our Police must capture that elusive balance of incisive and robust attention to incidents while retaining a courtesy that maintains our national personality and reputation.

One item that we raised at last year's conference was the need of the Police to ensure that the remedial measures, identified during the Commission of Enquiry of the Malagwane accident of April 2014, are being implemented as rapidly as resources allow. Let us ensure that the matter is reviewed at this conference, with the expectation of a public statement on the matter in due course.

Furthermore, we raised last year the issue of two important Bills that were at an advanced stage in the legislative process. The Police Bill has since been in Parliament but withdrawn for some changes. I urge the Chairpersons of the Portfolio Committees to assist in ensuring that the consultations are fast-tracked for the Bill to be amended in the manner agreed, then re-tabled for debate and adoption. The Crime Prevention Bill has now been approved by Cabinet and gazetted and will be tabled in the next session of Parliament in 2016.

The theme of this year's conference is "Embracing contemporary strategies in reducing traffic accidents and turning the tide against crime." Much of the modernising of our operating strategies involves the use of scientific and technological innovations when tackling our essential functions - the prevention and detection of crime, together with a reduction in road accidents. Technology will continue to have a growing impact on our ability to deliver in those key areas, though available funds will be a limitation. And the benefit from advances in technology are invariably proportionate to the commitment and efficiency of the human user.

While on the crucially important subject of resource availability, let us take note of, and hope that, the fiscal constraints in the public sector will ease sufficiently in the coming years so that adequate resources will be made available for much needed vehicles and institutional housing.

Looking back on the year, no one can deny the degree of activity engaged in by our Police Service. Of note were the four regional Turn Back Crime Dialogues - one held in each of the four regions. I take the opportunity to commend the four Regional Administrators for their enthusiasm and their convening skills. Certificates have been arranged as a token of our appreciation. Tokens of appreciation will also be presented, with thanks, to our two Turn Back Crime Brand Ambassadors Sandile Nxumalo and Nompumelelo Magagula for their lively and eloquent contribution.

We shall now look forward to the National Crime Symposium and Dialogue that will be held early in 2016, on a day to be announced, when ideas and plans will take a further step towards change on the ground.

We were particularly impressed by the interest and dedication expressed by the community members in attendance, and the wonderful musical rendition of the Mhlatane High School Choir was quite motivating to all at the Hhohho Dialogue. As a token of appreciation, a framed photograph of the National Commissioner and myself standing with the choir, has been prepared.

What was additionally encouraging about the Mhlatane High School was its interest and involvement in fighting crime. That, of course, is precisely the purpose of the Schools Crime Clubs, so I take this opportunity to remind all concerned, especially school principals, of the benefit of children learning about crime and the development of the individual moral compass that helps the youth avoid the downward spiral that comes from criminal activity.

Police activity during the year has been as pro-active as it has been reactive, following the maxim of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Although the saying requires a transition, to perhaps milligrammes and kilogrammes, it applies to so much in life. Visibility policing is one key example of this strategy and it is a highly effective prevention measure in vulnerable areas.

The Police have had another successful year in busting organised crime syndicates - one aspect of the ugly face of modern criminal activity - but we are still seeing an unacceptably large number of crimes of violence, especially in gender-based incidents, with sexual abuse of women and children. Reporting every such case, without fear or favour, is possibly the most substantial step that can be taken when tackling crime in our society.

The Police Service has also displayed an impressive zero tolerance towards drunken driving and its perpetrators. An inebriated driver behind the wheel of a vehicle is no less dangerous than an unbalanced individual lurching down a crowded city street with a loaded AK-47 automatic rifle. I have no doubts about the alertness of our Police officers on the road but I want to be assured that the conference will discuss how to ensure such officers are not effectively tempted into the corrupt world of bribery. Removing danger from our roads demands the exclusion of every potential escape route - usually bribery with money - for the guilty driver.

Effective policing, in this day and age, requires cross-border collaboration to match the changing profile of criminal activity. The SARPCCO Games that we successfully hosted this year were not only highly enjoyable and an incentive to our officers to keep and stay fit, but also a valuable opportunity for us to strengthen our links within the transnational crime fighting domain.

Lastly I come to an exciting development in the Police Service - the upgrading of our 999 Emergency Response System. The transition from analogue to digital will soon, we trust, eliminate the scepticism of those who have, in the past, experienced to their utmost frustration the line clogging that often occurred. It is essential that every emergency is dealt with in a manner, and at a speed, that present the appropriate response. The new system meets that requirement.

I do hasten to add that reckless and irresponsible use of the new system will be considered a serious misuse of Government resources and, in many cases, a threat to human life itself, and will be dealt with accordingly.

As we move closer to the livelier times of the festive season, let me thank the Police Service and other security forces for their commitment to safety and good public behaviour at the Incwala Ceremony, Christmas and the New Year, while at the same time congratulating the National Commissioner of Police on the award of a new three year contract, recognising the outstanding skill and integrity he has brought to his position.

I now, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, have pleasure in declaring the Conference open and the 999 Emergency Response Facility officially launched.

Thank you.