Mashatile: Madlanga findings prompt speedy action and reforms

Deputy President Paul Mashatile told the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) that government is acting “speedily” on revelations from the Madlanga Commission and reinforcing institutions to root out crime and corruption.

Speedy response after commission revelations

Mashatile, answering oral questions in the NCOP on Thursday, said the administration had not waited for the commission to uncover wrongdoing before taking action. “As the Madlanga Commission uncovers, we now act, and we act speedily,” he said, adding that the commission was bringing out “more and more that we may not have seen before”.

Operation Prosper: arrests and local impact

On the Western Cape gang-crackdown Operation Prosper, Mashatile said authorities recorded 672 arrests since April. He said murders have been reduced in 11 stations and drug recoveries have increased in areas covered by about 12 stations. He also said he had met families affected by gang-related violence and addressed community members.

Targeted follow-ups and monitoring

Mashatile said intensified efforts were under way in Gugulethu, Manenberg and Khayelitsha to defeat gang violence and restore community safety, and that follow-up visits would continue in those areas. He said SAPS is developing a monitoring system to measure the success and impact of Operation Prosper, including in provinces affected by illegal mining.

Anti-corruption units, disciplinary reviews and interdepartmental work

Responding to questions about whether corrective actions existed in SAPS before the Madlanga Commission, Mashatile said the police had anti-corruption units in place prior to the inquiry and that some members of the force had been charged before the commission.

He said the Madlanga Commission had helped to reveal additional issues, and that the government was strengthening anti-corruption units and re-looking and reviewing the disciplinary codes to close loopholes.

Mashatile said the acting minister, Firoz Cachalia, was reviewing disciplinary regulations in conjunction with work by other departments, including the National Treasury through the Government Technical Advisory Centre.

On the role of the JCPS

Mashatile defended the Justice Crime Prevention & Security (JCPS) Cluster as a forum rather than a department.

“The JCPS is a forum where we bring together all the security forces… It’s a mechanism to ensure accountability… We are not the department. So, if there is a failure, that means the failure is in the department. Not in the JCPS,”

He said the commission had shown the JCPS could not always detect certain problems when senior officials present reports that everything is in order, and added that once people are exposed by the Madlanga Commission “those people must be removed.”