About 10% of South African Police Service (SAPS) have been found inhabitable. This was revealed by the Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, in a reply to a RISE Mzansi written parliamentary question.
ARCHIVE: SAPS118 out of 1,165 or 10% of police stations “have been found
to be inhabitable and/or not conducive for a productive working environment”.
The majority of these stations are found in the North West, Limpopo, and
KwaZulu-Natal, provinces plagued by illegal mining, sexual offences, stock
theft, and housebreaking.
Five of the 118 SAPS stations were in the Western Cape.
SUPPLIED‘’The story behind these numbers point to a South African
Police Service (SAPS) that is unable to effectively keep the people of South
Africa safe. These conditions also undermine the working rights of the
country’s almost 190,000 SAPS personnel (155,231 SAPS Act employees; 32,450
Public Service Act employees),’’ said Makashule Gana, RISE Mzansi National
Assembly Whip.
Cachalia also revealed that 35 projects - 7 new Police
Stations; 3 Police Stations for planned maintenance; and 25 repairs to cells -will
be completed at the end of the current financial year.
The Minister states that “the total amount budget for
structural upgrades in the current financial year is estimated at R305,768,680.
The total amount spent on structural upgrades as of 21 October 2025 is
R34,651,405.”
‘’RISE Mzansi will also keep a sharp eye on the budget
allocated for structural upgrades so that money is not squandered or stolen.’’
Gana says he will, in the coming weeks, conduct an
oversight visit at the SAPS Head Office in Pretoria, and badger SAPS Senior
Management for the need for ‘’properly resourced and maintained Police Stations
as part ensuring trust between communities and the SAPS, and boosting the moral
of the women and men in blue, thus contributing to the fight against crime in
all its forms.’’
Done by: Mitchum George
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