Pretoria - Hundreds of DA supporters marched to the office of Police Minister Bheki Cele in Tshwane on Tuesday, accusing him of incompetence and calling for his immediate resignation.
In a video on social media, the DA described the minister as a “catastrophe” and “clown” who doesn’t know how to fight crime.
“He’s the man who has run SAPS down to 20 000 fewer officers than we had in 2010. While 153 people are raped every day, only 44% of the SAPS actually answer their phone...This man is a catastrophe, it’s time he is removed,” said a DA member in the video.
DA leader John Steenhuisen, who led the march, said the country has had enough of Cele’s “arrogance and incompetence”.
Speaking to supporters during the march, Steenhuisen said the country is capable of fighting crime but it can not be done with Cele still as the minister.
“These are not just numbers, they are people. These are your family, they are our family and it shouldn’t have happened. It wouldn’t have happened if we had a police minister who knew how to fight crime, instead of a clown that we have that has no idea of how to fight crime,” said Steenhuisen in his address.
The party is already circulating a CeleMustGo petition on social media that they are asking the public to sign asking for Cele to vacate the office.
Our message is clear: We want safer communities NOW. 🇿🇦#CeleMustGo pic.twitter.com/7jjkV2tobs
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) September 6, 2022
According to Steenhuisen, more than 33 000 people have signed the petition.
The party has also accused Cele of spending R600 million a year on catering and accommodation while 2.2 million households experience violence and crime.
Police ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Theba said they had noted the march but are concerned that “the DA’s claims are not based on facts”.
“The money the DA is referring to is money going towards the fight against crime. (The) parliamentary reply of the breakdown of budget ... (clearly) demonstrates that the police ministry has the smallest share of the overall budget, which is going towards policing and housing officers deployed to various areas for crime prevention duties and overall SAPS operations.
“So it is not true that the ministry, let alone the minister, spends this much money on catering. This claim by the DA can only be deduced as an attempt to score points and the party should rather use the energy to work with the ministry and SAPS to find ways to keep communities safer,” she said.
IOL