WELCOMING ADDRESS: LIEUTENANT GENERAL JK PHAHLANE
OPENING OF DIEPSLOOT POLICE STATION
GAUTENG
2016-02-19
Minister of Police, Mr Nhleko
Deputy Minister of Police, Ms Sotyu
MEC for Community Safety in Gauteng, Ms Nkosi – Malobane
Provincial Commissioners
SAPS senior management
SAPU
POPCRU
CPF Board Chairperson – Mr A Mashaile
Respected members of the community
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a privilege to be among you on such an important and memorable day, both for the South African Police Service and for the community of Diepsloot.
On behalf of the Department of Police, allow me to extend a sincere and hearty welcome to each and every one of you present here today. Minister of Police, Mr Nhleko, Ms Sotyu and MEC Nkosi-Malobane, we welcome you and thank you for your support.
The long wait is finally over. Diepsloot has it’s own police station and, together, we are going to live the slogan #CrimeMustFall. In order to achieve this and make Diepsloot safer, I appeal to the community to work with the Station Commander and his team. Together with #CrimeMustFall, police killings must also fall. The murders of protectors in blue is unacceptable and police killers must be turned in by the community.
You, the community, requested this police station and in line with our government’s direction we heeded the call to take our services to the people.
We, as the SAPS, are more than delighted to have this facility erected for your benefit, so that we can be empowered to serve and protect the people of Diepsloot more efficiently and effectively.
A well-functioning police station is important to people in any particular community; it brings hope that whenever you have a challenge, you will have people who are there to listen to you and who are willing to assist you. All the resources that have been placed in this police station will be utilised correctly and fully to fight crime.
Ladies and gentlemen: policing in our country is placed in communities, and the police are accountable to the people they serve. Therefore, the importance of a strong partnership between the police and the community cannot be over-emphasised.
In terms of community relations, legislation speaks to the improvement of services rendered at national, provincial and local levels, thus strengthening transparency and accountability to the community, and promoting joint problem-identification and problem-solving.
In our drive to deliver our services to the people, we have, since 2014, embarked on revamping and restructuring our police stations through the Frontline Service Delivery (FSD) programme. The FSD is a programme implemented by Government and driven by the Presidency to ensure, inter alia, that we honour the Batho Pele principles of putting the people first. In terms of this, not only have we been improving the look and feel of our facilities, but we have also trained our members on how to improve their conduct when dealing with the people who visit or call our police stations.
In other words the programme was driven to encapsulate professionalism in our service, doing away with the “business as usual” attitude. We have seen the difference; we have made progress in the respective FSD stations that we have already re-vamped or opened. We have witnessed community accessibility, receptive police service points, the establishment of stakeholder relations and strengthened community relations.
Ladies and gentlemen: the SAPS understands why you have called for this facility. South Africa is an industrialised country that attracts people of all walks of life who flock into the city of Johannesburg to better their lives. People from other provinces and even from our neighbouring countries come to the City Of Gold, Africa’s economic hub.
Diepsloot, like many neighbouring communities, has become congested, and some people may resort to criminality, as well as alcohol and drug abuse, which is often associated with murder, attempted murder, assault and rape. I must emphasise we will be very firm on fighting such developments.
Ladies and gentlemen: we understand your challenges very well and we are of the view that our ‘back to basics’ approach will fit like a glove in advancing the course of policing in a democratic dispensation, particularly here in your community. To the members who will be serving our people in this facility – discipline, professionalism and respect will be the language and the order of the day.
Cracking down on crime, drug lords, corruption and criminals is a pressing matter. We have and will continue to deal with our own members who use our dignified badge to do the opposite of what it stands for. We call upon our community to report any misconduct. We will welcome your constructive criticism and we will welcome your compliments when we do excellent police work.
Crime MUST fall and, together, we must take back the streets so that we can raise our children, who are the leaders of tomorrow, in a safe and better Diepsloot.
