South Africans tired of Cele’s incompetence

POLICE Minister Bheki Cele, in 2010 when he was the national police commissioner, signed a R500million deal to move the SA Police Service top brass – including then police minister Nathi Mthethwa, his then deputy Fikile Mbalula, and administrative staff – to Roux Shabangu’s building.

The “dodgy” deal never went out to tender, violating Treasury regulations that all contracts of more than R500000 must go through a competitive bid process.

After back-and-forth, a board of inquiry submitted that Cele knew businessperson Shabangu who was awarded the police building lease and was therefore dishonest by not disclosing their relationship.

In addition, then public protector Thuli Madonsela ruled that police buildings were leased from a company at inflated prices. Then president Jacob Zuma fired Cele as national police commissioner for dishonesty, ending one of the many scandals besieging the country’s police service.

Cele’s then predecessor, the late Jackie Selebi, had also been dismissed after being convicted of taking $156000 in bribes from drug dealer Glenn Agliotti.

Fast forward to today. Cele is again embroiled in a multibillion-rand scandal since taking over as police minister in 2019. His ministry is reported to have spent a whopping R3bn of taxpayers’ money on hotels, food and entertainment. In the past 12 month he has blown R600m.

In a reply to a parliamentary question, Cele revealed his department had spent more than R1.5bn on accommodation and R42.7m on catering since 2019.

This spending comes at a time when the police service bemoans its inability to uphold its constitutional mandate to protect the citizens of our country due to financial constraints.

While Cele blows the budget on food and hotels, visible policing has suffered personnel and budget cuts over the years while millions of South Africans live in a permanent state of fear.

It is unwarranted that so much money can be wasted when every year the SAPS reduces its frontline personnel, detectives and reservists while South Africans are murdered, maimed and raped.

What more does Cele need to do for President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire him? South Africans are sick and tired of his incompetence and disregard for them. It is time for Cele to go.