MPs discover SAPS facing huge legal bill
INTENSE
questioning from MPs on Wednesday has shown the administration of the South
African Police Service (SAPS) to be a shambles, with the service facing a
potential legal bill of billions of rands as a result of a huge contingent liability.
Issues
canvassed by members of Parliament’s police committee include thousands of
police officers without driving licences, thousands who have not passed firearm
competency tests, significant numbers of lost firearms, a legal department
facing multiple lawsuits, and a host of stations in profound disrepair.
African
National Congress chairwoman of the committee Annelize van Wyk, referring to
the police’s legal costs, stressed that the issue was managing the litigation
brought against the police. She suggested that police were defending cases they
could not win and contesting cases that should be settled out of court.
Democratic
Alliance MP Dianne Kohler Barnard wanted to know how many police were carrying
guns but had not passed competency tests, because this had huge legal and cost
implications for the service.
She said
the SAPS annual report, the subject of the meeting, showed the financial
implications of the lack of discipline in the SAPS. "The figure for
contingent liabilities (a liability the entity may have to pay, depending on
the outcome of a future event, such as a court case) has quadrupled from R5.3bn
in 2006 to R20.5bn for 2011-12. It now constitutes 32.8% of the SAPS annual
budget.
"The
bulk of this figure is made up of civil claims against the police," she
said.
Ms Kohler
Barnard said there were huge civil claims against the police for shooting
incidents, vehicle accidents, legal expenses, damage to property, assaults, and
relating to other police actions.
"The
sheer volume of civil claims, coupled with the fact that the Independent Police
Investigative Directorate investigated 6,026 complaints in 2011-12 ranging from
death at the hands of SAPS members to rape, armed robbery and misconduct cases,
makes one question what is happening with our police."
Commissioner
Riah Phiyega said she was restructuring the legal services office and would
report progress to the committee, including progress with regard to the
contingent liability.
Julius
Molefe, head of the legal services office, said there would always be
litigation against the police because of the nature of the work, but the
behaviour of officers should come under scrutiny.
Ms van
Wyk said the administration of the SAPS was its worst-performing section and
"we are not going to accept this situation again next year".
