Police Amendment Bill to strip Commissioner-General of powers to promote

 

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Online Reporter

THE Police Amendment Bill on Wednesday went through its second reading before the Senate with the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi revealing that the bill seeks, among other provisions, to establish a Police Service Commission (PSC) that will have the powers to promote non-commissioned members.

Non-commissioned members are officers below the rank of Inspector.

At the moment the Commissioner-General  has the sole powers of promoting non-commissioned members.

If passed into law, as expected, the bill will also give the PSC powers to dismiss members on medical condition, deviating from the principal Act where those powers rest with the Commissioner-General.

“The authority that the Commissioner General has in terms of Section 20 of the principal Act to discharge members on medical grounds is transferred to the Police Service Commission. This is consistent with the provisions of Section 340 (f) of the Constitution, which provides that the power to appoint also includes the power to suspend or remove the person from office. Mr. President, notably, according to the provisions of Section 21 of the principal Act, the Commissioner General needs the consent of the Minister before discharging non-commissioned members by reason of the abolition of his or her office or organisational restructure. However, the Bill provides that such approval needs to be sought from the Police Service Commission. This is in harmony with the provisions of Section 340 (1) (f) which I just discussed on discharge on medical grounds,” said Minister Ziyambi.

The Bill also seeks to repeal Section 32 of the principal Act, which stipulates that only commissioned officers can elect to be retired by the Magistrate Court yet non-commissioned members do not have such a right.

“Repealing Section 32 means that all trials, including those of commissioned officers, will be conducted by boards of officers. This is because such differential treatment of members of the same organisation is unfair. Additionally, it is not only unfair but also has a negative bearing on the discipline of the police services,” Minister Ziyambi said.

@skhumoyo2000.