Police rapid response units running on empty

Finding money to fund VIP bodyguard protection for the elite, from lowly provincial MECs to MPs is not a problem. Zuma was costing taxpayers R1 million a month as a private citizen, an expense unjustifiable on all grounds. It seems everyone who is anyone in the ANC's New! Improved! South Africa!™ is entitled to an entourage and a blue light convoy. That fits black African attitudes. Me chief, you peasant, you eat shit. It makes them feel important, sets them above the chattering classes. If you've ever seen a group of chimps in action, you've seen the South African government. Apologies to the chimps.

Witness Former Speaker Mbete's behaviour this week on being booted from that position. She refused to accept a position in Zuma's cabinet because that would make her a lowly Cabinet MP and she would thus forfeit the R40-R50 mil she is going to receive now if she retires - due solely on account of the brief period she was acting president during Motlanthe's time in office. She is also entitled to bodyguards, drivers, cars, secretaries and an office for life all funded by us sucke..er, taxpayers.

As Tony Leon rightly puts it in the previous post Migrant Crisis, Suspect Passports, Corruption .. where government [officials] benefit no expense is spared and the best minds are employed, whereas ordinary people must make do with basic services that are in an atrocious condition due to underfunding, plus the great social experiment of affirmative action and inept government policies. Ditto the police services. No money is available to equip our police properly to enable them to execute their jobs to serve the masses. Where the influential prosper and the rest suffer, this is the stipulative definition of a banana republic. Oh..and foreigners, the vehicles below are your security escorts...

Related post: Eastern Cape Premier spends R260m on jacuzzi, gym

The East London police flying squad and dog unit have been crippled by an acute vehicle shortage that has hit their ability to fight crime.

Considered rapid response units, both are expected to respond to crimes in progress such as rape, assault, armed robberies, hijackings and burglaries.

The units can receive up to 20 emergency calls in one 12-hour shift.

During a week-long investigation, the Saturday Dispatch learnt that the flying squad, which should have at least three high-performance vehicles manned by two policemen each per shift on the road, has only a single 1.8 Nissan Tiida at its disposal.

The vehicle is currently running for 24 hours a day.

The dog unit, which should have at least two vehicles patrolling on any given shift, has only a single 1.8 litre Toyota LDV, with over 300 000km on the clock, which is also running for 24 hours a day.

Standing orders state that both units’ vehicles should be replaced after reaching 100 000km, and that each vehicle should have an engine capacity of 2.0litres or more.

The units are expected to respond to serious crime within six minutes of receiving a call, but as they cover an area stretching from the Kei Bridge in the north to the Chalumna Cuttings in the south and as far as King William’s Town to the west, with only one vehicle this is nearly impossible.

A former member of the dog unit, who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity, said he had left the unit because of the dire situation.

“It was very frustrating,” he said. “The members take pride in their work but they can’t do their jobs properly because they don’t have the right equipment. This has been a problem for a long time and the police force is going backwards.”

The flying squad has a total of eight vehicles including the Tiida, but seven are not working and in urgent need of repair, while the dog unit has 11 vehicles out of commission.

“Even when there are vehicles they’re still dangerous,” the man said. “Lights would not work, the tyres would be smooth and we’d be required to undertake high-speed chases in these cars, which are death traps.”

A Dispatch team visited the South African Police Service garage next to the Mercedes-Benz South Africa plant on the West Bank, and saw at least 60 police vehicles in various stages of disrepair parked around the yard.

The collection ranged from accident- damaged, unmar ked BMWs to patrol vans placed on stilts. Sources within the SAPS said the garage did not have the hi-tech equipment needed to repair many of the vehicles and that repairs often took “months”.

A Dispatch team also visited the SAPS Eastern Cape provincial head office, where five high-performance BMWs earmarked for use in 2010 were standing idle in the parking lot.

The vehicles are marked “2010 Route Security”. Questions have been raised about why these vehicles were bought for 2010 when there was clearly an immediate need for them.

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) national spokesperson Benzi Ka-soko said “criminals have declared war on the public and police and we don’t have the resources to fight them properly”.

“This particular situation is just one example of many around the country.

“Popcru is very concerned about the situation and we have conveyed these concerns to the new Minister of Police (Nathi Mthethwa) and asked that he make these challenges a priority.”

Questions were sent to the SAPS regarding the shortage of vehicles in East London, but were not answered because the relevant people were away. “As soon as we get the response from either of them, we will respond to your inquiry,” said provincial police spokesperson Superintendent Sibongile Soci.