The University of Fort Hare has been identified as a hotspot for violent protest as the SAPS top brass admit that they cannot cope with growing protests countrywide.
Addressing parliament’s portfolio committee on policing yesterday, SAPS deputy national police commissioner Fannie Masemola said the police simply did not have enough public order police (POP) to deal with violent protest nationally – especially with elections approaching.
He said 11 unrest or instability hotspots had been identified around the country recently including Grabouw in the Western Cape, Hammanskraal in Gauteng and Vuwani in Limpopo, where violent and destructive protests have raged.
Fort Hare and the Vaal University of Technology were also on the list, which was presented yesterday to parliament.
However, hotspots identified across provinces during election registration weekends in March and April were not on the list.
In the Eastern Cape alone there were service delivery protests at 22 voting stations, eight of which had to be closed for registrations to protect Independent Elections Commission (IEC) staff.
IEC provincial commissioner Thamsanqa Mraji red-flagged Ward 14 in Ntabankulu, Ward 25 in Nyandeni, Ward 10 in Port St Johns, Ward 61 in Nelson Mandela Metro and Ward 6 in Engcobo.
“Due to the intensity of protests these stations remained closed,” said Mraji.
Similar protests had erupted in Sterkspruit during the May registration weekend, as conflict over new boundaries and service delivery continued despite Mraji’s full assurance that police would “maintain law and order”.
Masemola’s presentation indicated that more than 600 POP officers were sent to these 11 areas.
The hotspots – particularly Vuwani and the Glebelands Hostel in Umlazi, where some of the unrest was political – would remain a focus for stabilisation until August.
But, he said, he did not have what he needed.
“Our forces are not enough. Resources are stretched. I am in negotiations to up the number of people trained in public order policing.
“What we have is not sufficient to cater for the challenges we have.”
POP has come under the microscope in South Africa since the deaths of 34 miners at Marikana in 2012. The Farlam commission recommended a full overhaul of all training and equipping in the POP field.
In 2014, SAPS requested an additional R3.3-billion to be spent on POP to beef up numbers and equipment.
The request was denied by Treasury.
However, a R598-million allocation was announced this year, to be spent on POP over the next three years.
Yesterday the committee also heard a presentation on the police’s progress in implementing the findings of the Farlam commission.
The committee heard that the expert panel who will look at POP – including its equipment requirements and first aid training for all police officers in the public order environment – had been established in April.
A transformation task force has also been established.
The new SAPS training programme for new recruits will also involve training in crowd control, which the old training syllabus did not include.
The first intake of students for the new curriculum started training earlier this month.
Police can’t cope with fiery demos
Addressing parliament’s portfolio committee on policing yesterday, SAPS deputy national police commissioner Fannie Masemola said the police simply did not have enough public order police (POP) to deal with violent protest nationally – especially with elections approaching.
He said 11 unrest or instability hotspots had been identified around the country recently including Grabouw in the Western Cape, Hammanskraal in Gauteng and Vuwani in Limpopo, where violent and destructive protests have raged.
Fort Hare and the Vaal University of Technology were also on the list, which was presented yesterday to parliament.
However, hotspots identified across provinces during election registration weekends in March and April were not on the list.
In the Eastern Cape alone there were service delivery protests at 22 voting stations, eight of which had to be closed for registrations to protect Independent Elections Commission (IEC) staff.
IEC provincial commissioner Thamsanqa Mraji red-flagged Ward 14 in Ntabankulu, Ward 25 in Nyandeni, Ward 10 in Port St Johns, Ward 61 in Nelson Mandela Metro and Ward 6 in Engcobo.
“Due to the intensity of protests these stations remained closed,” said Mraji.
Similar protests had erupted in Sterkspruit during the May registration weekend, as conflict over new boundaries and service delivery continued despite Mraji’s full assurance that police would “maintain law and order”.
Masemola’s presentation indicated that more than 600 POP officers were sent to these 11 areas.
The hotspots – particularly Vuwani and the Glebelands Hostel in Umlazi, where some of the unrest was political – would remain a focus for stabilisation until August.
But, he said, he did not have what he needed.
“Our forces are not enough. Resources are stretched. I am in negotiations to up the number of people trained in public order policing.
“What we have is not sufficient to cater for the challenges we have.”
POP has come under the microscope in South Africa since the deaths of 34 miners at Marikana in 2012. The Farlam commission recommended a full overhaul of all training and equipping in the POP field.
In 2014, SAPS requested an additional R3.3-billion to be spent on POP to beef up numbers and equipment.
The request was denied by Treasury.
However, a R598-million allocation was announced this year, to be spent on POP over the next three years.
Yesterday the committee also heard a presentation on the police’s progress in implementing the findings of the Farlam commission.
The committee heard that the expert panel who will look at POP – including its equipment requirements and first aid training for all police officers in the public order environment – had been established in April.
A transformation task force has also been established.
The new SAPS training programme for new recruits will also involve training in crowd control, which the old training syllabus did not include.
The first intake of students for the new curriculum started training earlier this month.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos