The FF Plus welcomes the appointment of Lt.-Gen. Fannie Masemola as the new national Police Commissioner, because he brings proven expertise and twenty years of experience as policeman to the position.
Lt.-Gen. Masemola was, among other things, the national Deputy Chief of Policing where he also fulfilled a leadership role in public order policing.
The FF Plus has always held the opinion that a police commissioner, who is responsible for the operational functioning of the police service, must be a seasoned policeman.
It is, however, regrettable that President Cyril Ramaphosa did not keep his word about appointing a panel of experts to make a recommendation for a commissioner, like he undertook in Parliament towards the FF Plus’s leader (Dr Pieter Groenewald).
The fact that the panel that was appointed consisted of two ministers (Police: Bheki Cele and Basic Education: Angie Motshekga) and three directors-general under the chairmanship of former minister Sydney Mufamadi creates the impression that it is indeed just another political appointment.
The presence of a single expert in operational police work, Gen. George Fivaz, is not enough to afford the panel the level of expertise needed to appoint a national police commissioner.
The rest of the panel members would have done what the President expected of them.
Lt.-Gen. Masemola does have experience, but the secrecy surrounding the panel creates the impression of a political appointment.
The government’s National Development Plan (NDP) for 2030 stipulates that the panel must consist of independent experts to prevent a political appointment from being made. That opportunity has now been lost.
The FF Plus wishes Lt.-Gen. Masemola all the best, though.
He has an enormous task ahead of him, particularly to reunite the police service as a close-knit unit after factions formed due to the feud between Minister Cele and the former Commissioner, Khehla Sitole.
It must be done to effectively combat crime and the FF Plus will insist in the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police that a specialist police unit must be established to see to it that it does indeed happen.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Dr Pieter Groenewald on FF Plus
