Here’s how much of its R1bn crimefighting war chest the police ministry has spent
· Citizen
The ministry of police has only spent a fraction of the funds it has been given to combat organised crime in the country.
Visit freshyourfeel.org for more information.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana in February confirmed that R1 billion would be made available each to the police and army to fight crime, with the war chest open until March 2027.
While hundreds of millions have gone unspent nationally, provincial legislatures argue that not enough is being invested into community-based interventions.
Cash for crimefighting available
The funds for the South African Police Service (Saps) and South African National Defence Force’s (SANDF) year-long crime crackdown was sourced from the Criminal Assets Recovery Account.
A breakdown of how the funds are to be used was provided in a response to a written parliamentary question posed by the DA’s Lisa Schickerling.
The police ministry explained that R798.8 million had been allocated for operational deployments and organised crime interventions, with R246 million available for equipment, technology, administrative costs and broader national stabilisation efforts.
Resources are expected to be focused on illicit trade, economic crimes and violent organised crime related to gangs and illegal mining, yet very little has been spent yet.
“To date, an amount of R15.001 million has been spent, while R984.999 million remains unspent,” the police ministry stated in a response dated 26 June.
In a separate question on Operation Prosper posed by ActionSA’s Dereleen James, the ministry confirmed that breaking the stronghold gangs had on their areas was difficult.
“No gangs were dismantled during this period, and it deems noting that ‘dismantled’ means that the entire gang ceases to exist.
“The focus is shifting from disruptive operations to the disabling and dismantling of identified criminal groupings,” stated the police ministry.
Little investment in community safety
While policing is overseen by national government, the opposition benches in Gauteng are unhappy with the perceived lack of funding to combat organised crime in the province.
DA member of the provincial legislature Michael Sun argued that the persistently high number of gang-related crimes demanded more resources.
In a response to a written legislative question signed off by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in June, he detailed the gang-related crimes, arrests and identified causes.
In the last four financial years, 979 gang-related crimes were reported in the province, with police making 641 gang-related arrests and recovering 189 gang-linked unlicenced firearms in the same period.
Reported crimes include 258 murders and 408 attempted murders.
Sun said it was unacceptable that no funds had been allocated for gang investigations in the province, and that only R3.8 million had been budgeted for visible policing, adding that the numbers could be better if the province had dedicated resources.
“This mismatch is deeply concerning. Gangsterism cannot be addressed through empty promises or reactive policing.
“It needs intelligence-led operations, specialised investigations, removal of illegal firearms, decisive action against drug syndicates and prevention programmes for vulnerable youth,” stated the DA’s provincial spokesperson for community safety.
‘Desire for belonging, protection, status’
The premier’s response noted that fighting gangsterism went beyond policing as it was rooted in poverty, family dysfunction, school-drop out rates and other socio-economic factors.
He noted that Westbury, Eldorado Park, Riverlea, Reiger Park, Booysens, Moffatview and Randfontein were primary areas for gang activity and recruitment.
Lesufi stated that teenage boys were often targeted for recruitment and that at least 12 schools in the province had been linked to gang recruitment and activity.
“Key drivers include competition over drug distribution territories, retaliatory violence, peer pressure and a range of social, psychological and environmental influences.
“These factors are often compounded by the desire for belonging, protection, status and financial gain.
“Children and young people who experience social isolation, weak family support structures or limited community integration are particularly vulnerable to gang recruitment,” Lesufi explained.