POLICE COMMISSION BLOWN IN ANC'S FACE

May 4, 2006

"The IFP notes that the Commission of Inquiry into Alleged Police Inefficiency and Ineffectiveness in KwaZulu-Natal set up to investigate police conduct, efficiency, effectiveness and service delivery within the SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal has finally blown in the face of the ruling party."

Dr Lionel Mtshali who leads the IFP in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Parliament also said:

"This commission, established last year by the KwaZulu-Natal Premier ostensibly to investigate, among other things, the alleged failure of the police service to protect government leaders, was opposed by the IFP from the start.
"The commission is now being snubbed even by national Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi who undoubtedly views its mandate as conflicting with his nationally-defined competency.

"National Commissioner Selebi has reportedly instructed Provincial Police Commissioner Hamilton Ngidi and other senior policemen not to co-operate with the commission. This has effectively nipped the commission in the bud and justifies the tabling of its interim report.

"Given its confused mandate and circumstances, the commission has not delivered on any of its promises and yet it has so far cost the taxpayer more than R9-million.

"The IFP feels vindicated. We have had a good reason to think that the commission was set up with a tacit purpose to settle accounts with the provincial Police Commissioner whom the ruling party perceived to be IFP-aligned.

"The IFP has likewise been suspicious of the commission's focus on some police stations rather than others. Here the commission undoubtedly strove to link police inefficiency with a perceived affiliation to the IFP.

"As a moral and constructive opposition, we will continue to monitor the work of the commission to ensure the efficiency of police conduct and the reliability of its personnel to come on top of crime in KwaZulu-Natal."

Contact: Dr Lionel Mtshali, 083 256 4902