Madam Speaker 

Deputy Speaker 

Honourable Premier 

Members of the Executive Council 

Members of the Provincial Legislature 

Members of the Mayoral Committees responsible for Safety 

Acting Head of Department and Senior Management 

Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service and the Management Team

Our stakeholders from the Criminal Justice System in the Province 

Our Community Policing Forums in Gauteng 

Ladies and gentlemen and the people of Gauteng 

Sanibonani! 

Madam Speaker, we are presenting this budget at a time when our country is faced with the pandemics of Covid-19 and gender-based violence (GBV). Lives are lost every day through Covid-19 and gender-based violence. Over the past few days, the province has been besieged with news of violence against women. Women no longer face the triple challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty. They face quadruple challenges, the fourth challenge being gender-based violence. As  the government, we need to acclimatize to categorizing the socio-economic challenges facing women to include gender-based violence. That way we will be seized with the task of ensuring that our women are safe in their homes, at work and on the streets. Since Lockdown started we have seen cases of GBV spiralling out of control, as if there is a concerted campaign to molest women. For Level 4 of Lockdown figures are at 1205 cases which were reported, Level 3 we now have 810 cases. The past two weeks have been the worse days; every day news were about women who have been killed and their bodies dumped in the velds or found hanged. 

Let me share with you some of the incidences; 

Ekurhuleni District, Etwatwa: On 13 June 2020, at about 15:00 the community of Emaphupheni Section, Etwatwa, found the body of Zandile Ngubane, 25 years old, under the bed of the suspect, who is her boyfriend. The boyfriend was arrested. Ekurhuleni District, Putfontein: The victim Slindile Ndlovu, 29 years old, last seen with the boyfriend watching movies. The deceased's friends forced entry into the boyfriend's place and discovered the deceased's naked body stuffed underneath her bed, covered with a blanket full of blood. The boyfriend was arrested. Johannesburg District, Eldorado Park: The Eldorado Park SAPS member received a complaint from a member of the community about a dead body at Freedom Park open veld, along Golden Highway, next to BB garage. He proceeded there and found the dead body of African female, age around 25 years, wearing blue jeans. Her legs and hands tied up with a rope and folded into a red big bag with a zip. The body was starting to decomposed as worms was seen around her eyes. Johannesburg District, Yeoville: The deceased Celiwe Velile, a Zimbabwean national, was stabbed by her husband, who is also a Zimbabwe national residing at the same  address. 

The deceased was rushed to Hillbrow clinic where she was declared dead on arrival. Suspect was arrested. 

Ekurhuleni District, Phumula: Niniza Hlatshwayo who has a 2-month-old baby was beaten up the whole night and thrown out of the house at 2am by her boyfriend. 

Johannesburg District, Dlamini: Amanda was beaten up by her live-in lover on Monday all because she arrived in the morning while attending a family gathering. 

Johannesburg District, Dobsonville: Saneliwise Mfaba whose body was also found dumped in near Sasol garage near Dobsonville gardens. The boyfriend has been arrested in Etwatwa. 

Tshwane District, Eesrterus: Evelyn de Kock was found dead in her room and her boyfriend had disappeared. The boyfriend was later arrested in Eldorado park 

And not forgetting Tshegofatso Pule, in Johannesburg District, who was 8 months pregnant. Whose death shock the whole nation and mobilized everybody. 

Just yesterday, a 3-year-old girl was found dead in Orange Farm and her body stuffed in a washing basket. 

Today we wake up to the news of a body of a woman being found along Golden Highway. The list goes on and on. These are just a few incidences that we are aware of. Many have died and have never been report or made headlines. Madam Speaker, this is sickening and makes all of us to ask questions. Why are women being killed? Femicide has to end honourable members. The girl child found in Orange Farm, I’m certain was killed by a person she knew and trusted. The women mentioned above were killed by the men they proclaimed they loved. 

Enough is enough…. Men must now stand up….. Madoda Sabelani !!! 

We applaud Tshegofatso’s uncle, Tumisang Katake who represented Sandile Mantsoe the convicted murderer of Karabo Mokoena, for declaring that he will never again represent a man who has killed or raped. We wish to call upon more Lawyers to join Tshego’s uncle and refrain from representing rapists and killers of women and children. Genoeg is genoeg!! 

We further wish to call upon parents of girl children to stop negotiating when the girl has been sexually molested. They must stop accepting imbuzi or money under the auspices of apologizing. You are permanently destroying the lives of your girl children. Madam Speaker and Deputy Speaker, as women of this province we have marched, we have reclaimed the nights, we have picketed at courts, we have done all we can and doing this in calling for Justice for women. All the perpetrators must be brought to book. We wish to applaud the police for speedily arresting the perpetrators and are now asking the Criminal Justice Sector to do its work. First they must not grant bail to these perpetrators, and later ensure that they give hefty sentences that will deter other perpetrators from committing acts of gender-based violence. 

Gauteng Premier, Honourable Premier David Makhura, highlighted during the 2020 State of the Province Address that, “Crime remains one of the top three concerns of residents of Gauteng, together with unemployment and poverty. Crime undermines our efforts to foster both economic development and stability because it robs families and communities of well-deserved peace and harmony”. The Gauteng Department of Community Safety is fully aware of the fact that the unacceptable high levels of crime lead to negative perceptions on safety in the province. Crime has a devastating effect as it threatens investments, retards economic growth, deters job creation and ultimately a setback in endeavour of “Growing Gauteng Together (GGT2030)”. 

Growing Gauteng Together (GGT2030) is about building a sustainable future for all. It is about ending crime, including Gender-based Violence, and creating a safe and secure environment for all. The priorities of the GGT2030 plan are: 

 Economy, jobs and infrastructure 

 Education, skills Revolution and health 

 Integrated human settlement and lance release 

 Safety, social cohesion and food security 

 Building a capable, ethical and Development State 

The Department contributes to the GGT2030 plan under Safety, Social Cohesion and Food Security and has set out the following priorities: 

 Support implementation of National Action Against GBV 

 Mobilize communities to Take Charge Against Crime 

 Support law enforcement agencies to reduce crime & fatalities 

 Police Oversight 

 Traffic Law Enforcement 

Support implementation of National Action Against GBV 

South Africa is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Declaration, The Beijing Platform of Action, and other Instruments, but women are perpetually oppressed through violence. 

The National Development Plan clearly states that “All vulnerable groups including women, children and rural communities should enjoy equal protection and their fear of crime should be eradicated through effective coordinated responses of the police, business, community and civil society.” 

In the Ready to Govern document of the African National Congress (ANC) we declared that: “Women should be able to walk in the streets freely without fear of assault and should be able to feel safe and free from violence in their own homes”. 6 

As part of Growing Gauteng Together, there is a need to ensure that our police are better equipped to offer support to victims of gender-based violence and are also properly trained to combat and investigate crime. On behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, as the Department of Community Safety we have been given the responsibility of being Champions in the fight against GBV. We are working with all the Departments in the Province in ensuring Victims and Survivors of GBV are assisted. Our Honourable Premier, Mr David Makhura, when delivering the SOPA on the 25th February 2020 announced The Gauteng GBV plan which will give effect to the President’s Emergency Response Action Plan (ERAP) on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. 

Various departments have also contributed in the development of the 5 Pillars of the Response Plan as adopted from the National Emergency Plan and they are as follows; 

 Prevention of Gender-based Violence 

 Provide care, support and healing for victims of GBV 

 Enhance the legal and policy framework 

 Strengthen the criminal justice system 

 Economic empowerment of women 

The plan also includes the setting up a focal point panel of gender activists, which will be located in the Office of the Premier, and part of its responsibility will be to coordinate government, civil society and private sector interventions against gender-based violence and femicide. This clearly demonstrate our unwavering commitment in dealing decisively with the scourge of gender-based violence. The Gauteng Provincial Government has budgeted R 60 million (R 188.8 million over the MTEF period) for the implementation of the GBV response plan. We will be appointing a Coordinator for the Province whose responsibility will be that of ensuring effective implementation and monitoring of the response plan across all spheres of government in the province. 

All the Victim Empowerment Centres (VECs) should be functional in all the 142 police station, and be well equipped to provide victim support and immediate case management on GBV matters and psycho-social support. We will be rolling out Green Doors in all the 5 Corridors of Gauteng. These Green Doors are places where women and children who need help can be assisted and be kept in a safe environment whilst waiting for the police. Several Women Safety Forums have also been rolled out in identified areas. Through the social cluster we will develop and implement empowerment sessions on GBV targeted at all sectors of society. Amakhaya wethemba are one of the places which are a one-stop centre for victims of gender-based violence and a sanctuary to the most vulnerable. Their work in assisting victims of abuse and the most vulnerable in society is well documented. Psycho-social support, medico-legal support and many others professional assistance are offered to the clients based at the centre. 

Mobilize communities to Take Charge Against Crime 

Madam Speaker, the Department will mobilise all our communities in the fight against crime. By strengthening the Social Movement against crime in our province and our safety structures such as Community Policing Forums (CPFs), Community patrollers, Faith-based Organisations, Military Veterans, Young People, Ward Committees and Sector Crime Fora. Our deployment of Ward-based Patrollers will further increase the safety of our communities. We further call upon our communities to work with all these safety structures in ensuring that Gauteng is a safe place for everyone. This will further give credence to our Take Charge Campaign. 

It is critical that we also intensify the Take Charge campaign which is aimed at strengthening community policing relations, mobilize civil society and stakeholders, to work closely with law enforcement agencies and government in the fight against crime. It is vital that we build these structures to help us in the fight against crime. Ward Councillors are also supposed to participate in their local police stations as Community Police Forum ex-officio members. We had already started hosting Safety Summits in February and March 2020. COVID-19 befell us while we were busy hosting Safety Summits, which were aimed at developing implementable area based plans to fight crime in our province. We will continue with hosting the Safety Summits in the 2020/21 financial year. We are going to be innovative on how we host these summits to avoid larger gatherings, as compelled by the COVID-19. 

The department will direct additional resources to support social mobilization against criminal activities, including our community policing forums, school governing bodies and local drug action committees, as well as organized social movements. This will improve safety in schools, institutions of higher learning, health facilities and other public spaces. The department has developed and implemented safety plans for schools at risk, including unannounced visits. Fifty (50) problematic schools have already been identified with the assistance from Department of Education and visits to some of the schools were conducted with all stakeholders involved, including the South African Police Service.  

During the raids, dangerous weapons were confiscated. The department continues to track and monitor learners at risk (involved in gangs, drugs, GBV etc.). 

The department, in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), planned to deploy 5094 patrollers at schools. This partnership is important because schools exist within our communities and they can’t be vandalized when most of us and bordering these facilities. 

Support law enforcement agencies to reduce crime & fatalities 

Honourable Premier in February committed the Provincial Government to assisting the Law Enforcement as part of ensuring they do their work helped with state of the Art technology. An amount of R 36 million (R 108.0 million over the MTEF period) has been allocated towards the Improvement of police visibility. 

The department also intends to prioritize the e-policing strategy, tools of trade and Provincial Operations Centre infrastructure and tools of trader R 27 million (R 61.9 million over the MTEF Period). 

The Gauteng Provincial Government will also be working with the SAPS to set up a state-of-the-art Provincial Integrated Command Centre where public law enforcement agencies and private security companies will share resources and crime-fighting technological capabilities. This centre will, amongst other initiatives, integrate all cameras installed in malls, Central Business Districts and on the roads to track down criminals. It will also integrate the use of drones and other cutting-edge technologies. More work needs to be undertaken to make Gauteng safer and ensure that criminals have nowhere to hide in our province. 

The police will be provided with 100 high-performance vehicles fitted with cutting-edge crime-fighting technology, 50 additional patrol cars and 12 mobile police stations for public events to enhance police visibility in crime hotspots, highways and in public spaces on a 24-hour basis.

Police Oversight 

As part of our oversight mandate, Department of Community Safety continues to monitor police conduct and oversee the effectiveness and efficiency of the services of the police in the Province. The department is also mandated to promote community police relations and assess the effectiveness of visible policing in line with Section 206 and 208 of the Constitution. 

The monitoring and overseeing of police performance and conduct in the 142 police stations in the province, is a critical part of our work to give effect to the Civilian Secretariat Act No 2 of 2011. The Department currently monitors 40 priority stations with a specific focus on the deployment of resources in crime hotspots, this also forms part of addressing trio crimes and sexual offenses. 

As part of our oversight role, we continue to conduct audits on closed dockets and highlight improved police focus in addressing gaps that contribute to low detection rate, drug related dockets that are withdrawn at court and revealed glaring omissions regarding supervision and investigation of crime. The coordination of Gauteng Law Enforcement Agency Forum (GLEAF) must continue for us to realize impact. 

We shall continue with Gauteng Law Enforcement Agencies Forum as key milestones are yielding results such as: 

• Joint Policing strategy is monitored regularly, 

• Station visits to monitor and evaluate the implementation of existing policing strategies, policies and instructions. 

The Metro Police Departments have a crucial role to play. All factors that might be hindering police coordination in the province should be tackled at all levels, specific clusters that are struggling with crime levels should be assisted as a matter of urgency, crime intelligence capacity should receive serious attention, community involvement and training for Patrollers to gather intelligence needs to strengthened.  We will continue to work hand in glove with the South African Police Service and the Independent Police Investigation Directorate (IPID) to address cases and allegations of police brutality. Our offensive strategies against criminals and traffic offenders are still on track and we are not turning back. 

Traffic law enforcement 

The department will employ 400 additional traffic police officers over the next three years, to increase visibility and enhance road safety. The absorption of Traffic Officers will cost around R 42. million (R 262.2 million over the MTEF period). The department is on course to reduce road fatalities by at least 12% on all provincial roads. The department has also supported the implementation of the Social Crime Prevention Plan with priority on school safety. We will continue to capacitate and train Gauteng Traffic Police officers in Public Order Policing in response to emerging challenges such as land invasions. 

Traffic law enforcement Law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to turn the tide against crime, amid the difficult conditions they are confronted with. Some of these challenges are aggravated by the global pandemic of COVID-19. 

In conclusion, 

The Operation O Kae Molao has made significant strides in reducing crime. More work needs to be undertaken to make Gauteng safer and ensure that criminals have nowhere to hide in our province. I urge Gauteng citizens and their organized formations to join government’s efforts and help wage a sustained and multifaceted campaign against crime. We also reassure the people of Gauteng that SAPS, under the stewardship of Lt. Gen. Mawela, is committed and ready to fight crime. 

Thank You