R14m set aside but SAPS has no timeline for body‑camera rollout, acting minister says

South Africa has no confirmed timeline for a national rollout of body-worn cameras for police after procurement delays, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said in a written parliamentary reply.

Procurement still in contracting phase

Cachalia told Parliament that the procurement of body-worn cameras has not yet been finalised, as the process remains in the contracting phase. He said the South African Police Service (SAPS) had applied for a deviation to publish the bid, but that application was not approved and the process must be handled by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).

“The bid is still to be advertised by SITA,” Cachalia said. He added that once a service provider is appointed, SAPS will develop a comprehensive national rollout plan that will determine the timeline for full implementation.

No rollout yet in KwaZulu‑Natal

Cachalia said operational members in KwaZulu‑Natal were not equipped with body-worn cameras and that the province had not initiated a rollout.

Budget allocation but no deployments

The acting minister confirmed that R14 million had been allocated in the 2025/26 financial year to support procurement of body-worn cameras and vehicle dashboard cameras nationally.

Opposition criticism and expectations

Democratic Alliance KwaZulu‑Natal MP Mzamo Billy criticised the delay, saying the government was failing to deliver on an earlier commitment to begin deploying the cameras in the 2025/26 financial year.

“The DA will continue to fight vigorously for Police Body-Worn Cameras to be rolled out, despite the Acting Minister of Police, Prof Cachalia, confirming that his department has given up on any timeline for the national rollout of these body-worn cameras,”

Billy said the acting minister should be accelerating delivery rather than allowing procurement delays to continue.

“Instead of presenting a clear national implementation plan with measurable milestones, he has once again hidden behind procurement processes and bureaucracy,”

he said.

Billy outlined the benefits he sees in the technology:

“Body-worn cameras improve transparency, preserve evidence, protect honest officers from false accusations and deter misconduct,”

and pointed to a 2024 Police Ministry statement that “SAPS intends to commence the deployment of body-worn cameras from the 2025/26 financial year”.

Related operational questions

The exchange in Parliament also covered a March 20, 2025 intelligence-driven operation. Cachalia said there was no operational plan for that operation because it was an ad hoc response to Crime Intelligence information requiring an immediate police response.

He said SAPS was unable to provide details on how many members discharged firearms or how many rounds were fired because that information was contained in the Independent Police Investigative Directorate investigation report. Cachalia said information on ballistic testing of firearms allegedly recovered from suspects formed part of the IPID investigation.

The acting minister said the members involved had returned to their posts of origin at the Rapid Rail Unit at Reunion Police Station and Durban Station after the Provincial Stabilisation Task Team was disbanded. He also said a departmental investigation had been conducted by Lieutenant Colonel DW Wood from the Division: Visible Policing and Operations, and that disciplinary functionaries were appointed on February 11, 2026, by the Divisional Commissioner: Visible Policing and Operations.

What comes next

Cachalia said a national rollout timeline will be determined after a service provider is appointed and SAPS develops its comprehensive roll‑out plan. The DA said it will continue to press the acting minister to finalise the procurement process.