Cops lash out at Phiyega’s niece
Xolani
Mbanjwa@City_Press8 September 2013 14:01
After contentious
promotion, Shai called a ‘dictator’.
Officers in the police’s
communications division have called on national police commissioner General
RiahPhiyega to “rein in” her niece, Brigadier TumiShai, who they accuse of
insulting them at work, calling them “houtkoppe”, “old people” and “bashemane”
(boys).
A formal grievance signed
by 15 staff in the publications and broadcasting unit, a copy of which is in
City Press’ possession, says Shai frequently drops her aunt’s name to
intimidate employees.
They appealed to Shai’s
boss, Phiyega’s spokesperson Solomon Makgale, to address her “dictatorial, aggressive
behaviour”, which has seen morale levels plummet.
The staff are responsible
for producing internal magazines and a weekly SABC2 TV show called When Duty
Calls.
They say Shai “does not
understand the requirements of the post she is in”.
The ratings on When Duty
Calls have plummeted since she took over as section head in February, they say.
And they want her transferred or sent on TV production and “interpersonal
skills” courses.
Makgale said he received
the grievance last month and instructed Shai to respond to the concerns raised.
Makgale said: “I met with all the employees and gave each an opportunity to
raise their concerns as well as indicate what outcome they wished for.
They all indicated that
they would like me to resolve the issue as opposed to going through a formal
grievance process.”
He said he will make a
decision in the next few days.
Makgale said the
relationship between Shai, a police officer since 2002, and Phiyega was
declared when Phiyega was appointed to the police’s top post last year.
Two months after Shai’s
February promotion to brigadier, the Rapport newspaper reported that police
officers in the communications unit were up in arms over Shai’s promotion from
the rank of colonel.
The newspaper reported that
several police officers with more experience were questioning her R61 000 a
month salary, considering she only had 10 years’ service in the SA Police
Service (SAPS).
Meanwhile, Police Minister
NathiMthethwa says the vetting process, which would have flagged the
drunk-driving charges faced by Major General BethuelZuma should have been
conducted before he was appointed to the job of Gauteng’s top cop – before
being hastily fired from that position when it emerged he was facing these
charges.
So said the police
ministry’s spokesperson ZweliMnisi after last week’s blunder, which saw Phiyega
hastily withdrawing Zuma’s appointment, saying it was only “provisional” and
that he would be vetted later.
This was not the only
procedural error Phiyega made.
Senior officers say she did
not follow the Police Act or provisions of the Constitution that regulate the
appointment of provincial police commissioners.
If these had been followed,
Phiyega would have known of Zuma’s pending drunk driving case, because an
updated security clearance certificate, called a Z204, and a Stroke Five file,
which documents all negative reports about police officers, would have revealed
it to her.
In addition, a “factual
report” by the Crime Information Analysis Centre compiled at the time of the
alleged crime would have been sent to the SAPS’s joint operations centre.
Mnisi said: “It is
important to reiterate that the screening and verification process, which is
done on any appointment of any official is the primary responsibility of SAPS
management so that by the time they come to the minister with a potential
appointee, all the necessary checks and balances would have been finalised.”
Phiyega’s spokesperson
would not comment on this matter.
