The Mercury reports that Police Minister Bheki Cele says the police need R2 billion to promote 66 000 officers, who have not received promotions for several years.

Cele, who was briefing the police portfolio committee on Tuesday, said he wanted the officers to be accorded the promotions they deserved.

“Any organisation, for it to function, you need to deal with personnel,” he said when the SAPS top brass made a presentation on its 2018/19 budget.

Cele said he had spoken to national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khehla Sitole about the outstanding promotions.

“I said we had to find this money. I have not told him that I have not raised it with the president, to say we need money.”

The minister said the promotions would have to possibly be carried out over two financial years if the required funds were ultimately found.

“We will even cut the corruption you are monitoring,” Cele said of the possible spin-offs of the promotions. Earlier, the committee heard from Corruption Watch that out of 21 000 corruption reports from whistle-blowers it received over six years, 1 165 were reports of police corruption.

“Of the reports we receive from the public on police corruption, 39% involve bribery, abuse of power and dereliction of duty,” Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis said.

In its 2017 report, Corruption Watch said abuse of power by the police was the most common form of corruption reported followed by bribery and failure to act.

Cele said the promoted officers would not have an excuse to commit corruption.

“I want to make a very serious invitation.

“Let us this time push for better conditions for members of the SAPS so that when they do these things and we arrest them, they have no reason, no excuse to do wrong things,” Cele told parliamentarians.

“Now they tell stories. Those stories must be cut.”

He told of two cases of long-serving officers who served as a warrant officer and captain for 19 and 31 years respectively.

“We can’t have a group of people that, their lives are completely stagnant. You can’t be one thing for 19 years in life,” Cele said.

Committee chairman Francois Beukman said it was important that there was a career path for police officers.

“It is going to be a priority for the committee and we are to monitor it going forward, “Beukman said.

He said it was important that the police service looked after its members and paid them salaries that allowed them to live comfortably.

Institute of Security Studies head of justice and violence prevention Gareth Newham said the figure given by Cele was a third of the SAPS workforce.

“The current budget framework for the next three years is not going to allow for massive promotions because it is going to cost too much.

“He has to find another way to assist the officers if he believes they need to be recognised and rewarded for work

This report by Mayibongwe Maqhina appeared on page 1 of The Mercury of 18 April 2018

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page