The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), which has in the past few weeks been electing new leaders to take the union forward across the country, recently held its 10th provincial congress in Upington in the Northern Cape.
In a scathing assessment of the situation in the province, the union delivered a stinging criticism of the poor state of leadership and working conditions there.
According to the union, the Northern Cape’s criminal justice cluster is in a state of shambles.
The newly elected office bearers include Zamani Mathiso, who emerged from the congress as new Popcru chairperson, Themba Smit as deputy chairperson, Mbali Mkontwane as secretary, Motlalepula Molefi as deputy secretary, and Kelebogile Mooki as treasurer.
The delegates tasked the new Northern Cape office bearers with taking the necessary steps to ensure that provincial management in the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Department of Correctional Services pay attention to the union’s members’ needs and concerns.
During the congress, the union flagged a serious breakdown in its relationship with the province’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS), accusing the Area Commissioner for Correctional Services in Kimberley and the Regional Commissioner, of arrogance, brazen disrespect, poor management skills, and targeting Popcru members.
Popcru President Thulani Ngwenya slammed those working to undermine the struggle of Popcru members and its executive structure in the province, saying, “The provincial executive is Popcru’s highest decision-making structure in the Northern Cape, yet they are being undermined by departmental commissioners and managers. We will not allow this to continue.”
Ngwenya also emphasised the union’s historical significance and its right to be respected, stating: “We were recognised by the apartheid government because they couldn’t stand us. It can’t be now, when we have won our rights as a union, that people dare to treat us like children.
“We strongly condemn the Department of Correctional Services management’s refusal to meet with (Popcru) in the strongest possible terms. The national office must intervene to address the breakdown of these relationships immediately. Additionally, the regional commissioner must be forced to take responsibility for her actions, and to withdraw the malicious cases she has launched against our members all for the crime of daring to stand up to her.“
The Star