News / National
Police urged to deploy vehicles to critically needy areas
19 Dec 2018 at 01:04hrs | Views
POLICE should prioritise deployment of service vehicles to areas where they are critically needed instead of issuing them to senior officers who keep them idle for the greater part of the day, a parliamentary committee chairperson has said.
In most rural provinces members of the public have raised concern over delayed police responses and cops allegedly attribute the problem to shortage of service vehicles.
In an interview, Home Affairs and Defence Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Levi Mayihlome, said it is inexcusable for Government departments to provide shoddy services while spending resources on luxury items. He said his committee's interactions with Government departments showed that most of them lack resources to effectively carry out their operations.
"The challenge that they have highlighted is that of inadequate resources for them to carry their mandate in terms of the Constitution. For example, police have challenges with operational vehicles. Resources are limited and we have made our point to Government. I think the Minister of Finance (and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube) listened to our concerns.
"But look everybody in this economy is crying for money and we understand that. But we want to say again with the little that we have what are they able to do? For example, police vehicles should not be kept in headquarters premises. We want them in outlying areas where they are required. We want them to give us the loudest bang where they are used for effective service delivery. We would be checking whether the resources are correctly deployed," said Mayihlome.
He said his committee engaged the Registrar General's Office and was told that foreign currency shortages were affecting issuance of passports Mayihlome said transformation within the Immigration Department could take longer as there is need for infrastructure upgrades. He said his committee is also working with other thematic committees to address issues to do with smuggling of children at the country's border posts.
"At the border posts, government has deployed officers. We think they can handle the issue of trafficking of children. Besides educating the people on child smuggling we want also to alert people of the hazards of doing such things. Those that worry us most are those that are smuggled across the borders," he said.
In most rural provinces members of the public have raised concern over delayed police responses and cops allegedly attribute the problem to shortage of service vehicles.
In an interview, Home Affairs and Defence Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Levi Mayihlome, said it is inexcusable for Government departments to provide shoddy services while spending resources on luxury items. He said his committee's interactions with Government departments showed that most of them lack resources to effectively carry out their operations.
"But look everybody in this economy is crying for money and we understand that. But we want to say again with the little that we have what are they able to do? For example, police vehicles should not be kept in headquarters premises. We want them in outlying areas where they are required. We want them to give us the loudest bang where they are used for effective service delivery. We would be checking whether the resources are correctly deployed," said Mayihlome.
He said his committee engaged the Registrar General's Office and was told that foreign currency shortages were affecting issuance of passports Mayihlome said transformation within the Immigration Department could take longer as there is need for infrastructure upgrades. He said his committee is also working with other thematic committees to address issues to do with smuggling of children at the country's border posts.
"At the border posts, government has deployed officers. We think they can handle the issue of trafficking of children. Besides educating the people on child smuggling we want also to alert people of the hazards of doing such things. Those that worry us most are those that are smuggled across the borders," he said.
Source - chronicle
