Finance Minister Tito Mboweni this week revealed that the police department’s budget would be cut by almost R1.2 billion to help fund the R10.5 billion rand allocation for SAA’s business rescue plan.
FILE: Suspects are loaded into a police van after being arrested for looting in Troyville, Johannesburg. Picture: EWN
CAPE TOWN – Police union Popcru said that attacks on officers could possibly increase due to budget cuts.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni this week revealed that the police department’s budget would be cut by almost R1.2 billion to help fund the R10.5 billion allocation for SAA’s business rescue plan.
Since April, more than 30 police officers have been killed across South Africa and there are fears that fewer resources will lead to a rise in attacks.
Popcru’s Richard Mamabolo said that attacks on police officers were becoming a national crisis.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s a plan to cap police killings but at the same time looking at the announcement by Minister Tito Mboweni of the budget cuts within the SAPS, it doesn’t look like we are going anywhere in the right direction.”
He said that cutting the police budget would further hinder the ability to provide visible policing and make it difficult to address concerns around resource allocation across the country.
“There are challenges around the allocation of resources. We’ve complained about the allocation of resources. The police is under capacitated and understaffed and of course, the tools of the trade being used has been a challenge.”
Mamabolo suggested that the service was already financially stretched, saying that last year there was a shortage of ammunition, resulting in officers not being able to complete firearm tests.