STATEMENT BY THE RT HON PRIME MINISTER
DR B.SIBUSISO DLAMINI
AT THE END OF YEAR CONFERENCE FOR SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS
AT THE POLICE COLLEGE, MATSAPHA
THURSDAY 1 DECEMBER 2016
National Commissioner of Police
Honourable Members of the Portfolio Committee for the
Prime Minister’s Office
Honourable Member of Parliament for Lobamba Inkhundla
Senior Police Officers and Senior Civilian Support Staff
Ladies and Gentlemen
As Minister responsible for the Royal Swaziland Police Service, and indeed as Head of Government, I am delighted to be joining you all today.
Whilst this End of Year Conference is a fixture on the annual Police calendar it is important that we should never view it as just plain routine. Far from it. Every year we should look back critically at the events and Police operations of the past year and ask ourselves those critically searching questions: how did we perform, were there any weak areas, how do we devise and implement remedies in the coming year?
The people of Swaziland expect, and are entitled to have, an effective and efficient Police Service that provides safety and security. Within those broad objectives we also expect politeness, fairness and honesty. I ask you to be ruthlessly self-critical within this conference. No Police service is perfect but we want our Royal Swaziland Police Service to be closer to perfection than any other national Police service. You have your delivery standards, you should have them on the wall of every main police station and you have to be measuring performance against those standards and reporting accordingly for all key stakeholders to reflect upon.
Your theme for the festive season is “Together let’s create a barrier against crime and road accidents” (Vuka Ngwane sibambane sakhe lubondza lwekuvikela Bucala Netingoti Temgwaco). It is well chosen, capturing the need for partnership between Police and public. It also fits neatly with the ongoing mantra against crime Nawe Uliphoyisa (crime is the concern of all of us). In that context, I believe that the Launch of the Security Operations two days ago was of considerable reassurance to the general public.
An overview of the past year informs us of a highly commendable standard of delivery by our Police Service in terms of the safety and security arrangements for the SADC Summit held in August of this year. We should continue to ensure that the pride which we all share, that our Head of State, His Majesty King Mswati III holds the 2016/17 Chair of SADC, extends into maintaining those standards throughout the many SADC events that will be held in Swaziland until August next year. I thank our Police Service, as well as the other security forces, for sustaining those high standards throughout the events so far held. I trust that the Police Service will maintain a high level of security coverage in all stages of this year’s Incwala Ceremony which has now commenced.
I must mention how impressed I was with this year’s Police Day Ceremony and the impeccable performance by the new recruits on their very special day of inauguration. It was with deep appreciation that we listened to the inspirational words of His Majesty during that ceremony.
What is the broad view of Police performance over the year? Well, let us examine the key remit of our Police Service, namely crime prevention and crime detection. The characteristics of crime change over the decades. There is a growing amount of organized crime in the form of syndicates. These can be more formidable and better assembled than in the case of individual criminals. It is highly pleasing that a number of those syndicates were busted during the year. Our streets are generally safe and that is not something that many countries of the world can claim.
But one seriously worrying crime remains and is frustrating to Police for its cruelty and cowardice. That is gender based violence, now sufficiently wide-spread to already be known by its acronym “GBV.” In tackling this scourge, we are already assisted by our international development partners: UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA, and we are very grateful to those agencies for that support. But that involvement needs to be extended to community level to include traditional leadership authorities among others. All our people need to understand that GBV is totally unacceptable and in many cases, a criminal act. We want it fully reported where it happens and highly capable Police units to deal with such cases promptly and sensitively. Coming up soon is 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children. I hope and pray that those 16 days are treated with the respect that our women and children deserve and that there is a countrywide display of support.
Tragically, we see all too often the incidents of the jilted lover subjecting the other person to violence, and even murder. Let us, as we review these issues today, interrogate this irrational and unpredictable behaviour. Why does sadness have to precipitate anger and violence? Injury or even death for one and incarceration for the other. A worst-case scenario. He who accepts the loss today, lives to woo another day. Why cannot all our men work by that saying?
We are also still seeing too many substantial traffic accidents. We did note a 5% reduction in fatal road accidents in the most recent quarter on record, namely July to September 2016. But the media remind us only too graphically that the big accidents are not going away. Many of these are caused by excessive speed and defective vehicles. I urge the Police Service to really step up the speed traps and their spot vehicle inspections during this festive season. We see plenty of evidence of Police vigilance and action in bringing drunk drivers to book. Reflecting on past events and statistics for all forms of misdemeanours on our roads, and making a comparison with at least one neighbouring country, it appears clear that, in many cases, the punishment does not yet match the crime.
There is no doubt that, to do its work properly, our Police Service needs to be properly resourced with the welfare of its officers prioritized. A fleet of 86 vehicles was supplied to the Service this year and I trust that the processes are in place to ensure that maximum effectiveness and efficiency of use is achieved from them. From another perspective, the high level of Police visibility undoubtedly contributes to a reduction in crime, and this can only be achieved if the Police on foot are augmented by Police on the roads.
Shortage of accommodation has been a serious concern and an unfair restriction for officers for many years. It is pleasing that progress is being made to remedy this problem through the Swaziland National Housing Board project of construction of institutional housing. I have had first-hand experience of this project when, during a recent tour of Lobamba Police Station, I inspected a block of flats, constructed to what appeared to be a very high standard. Funds have also been made available for the rehabilitation of Police stations around the country. The project at Lobamba has transformed that Police station in an impressive manner.
It is always deeply disturbing when Police officers are attacked in the line of duty. The recent incident of the officer being viciously attacked and badly injured in Nhlangano brought it home to us how vulnerable our Police officers can sometimes be. In this regard I do urge the Ministry assigned to deal with the provision of adequate accident (and other risks) insurance cover for Police officers and members of other security forces, to finalise the task quickly. It should be noted that Government has already, in principle, approved the establishment of a special fund to support this insurance cover.
Finally, I would like to mention that some important pieces of enabling legislation – the Police Bill, Crime Prevention Bill and Public Order Bill - are currently in Parliament and I do hope these can be finalized in the first Parliamentary session of 2017.
It remains for me to wish you a day of robust, and vigorously introspective discussions and the production of a prioritized action plan for 2017.
Thank you.