Membership of the old SAP is not a ground for discrimination. If that is taking place it is also unacceptable. We also know that far too often when posts are advertised in the police service, members of previously disadvantaged groups fail to apply. We must do all we can as leaders to encourage those qualified members of our communities to apply for these posts. Members of the police must know that when a post is vacant they should apply and that no posts are reserved for particular people.
Every member has a right to apply and receive a response.
The protection of our rural people remains a matter of grave concern to my Party. People in rural areas have traditionally poor access to police services and suffer as a result. Farmers also face a serious security threat, particularly in the provinces of KwaZulu Natal, Northern Province, Free State and others. Farmers and rural people are feeling very vulnerable to crime at the moment and we must do all that we can to reassure them that the Government takes their security extremely seriously. The latest figures from SAPS show attacks on the residents of farms and smallholdings are escalating at a rate out of proportion to the general increase in crime figures observed in South Africa.