By Johnathan Paoli
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has announced government plans to “reset” the country’s criminal justice system and policing, describing it as the most decisive intervention against corruption and organised crime in more than a decade.
Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA), Cachalia confirmed immediate security deployments and concrete steps to implement the findings of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament, he said President Cyril Ramaphosa had placed public safety and institutional integrity at the centre of the country’s future.
“With respect to the fight against corruption, violent crime and organised crime, including gang violence and illegal mining, the President’s SONA address on 12 February was, in my opinion, the most significant in the last decade,” Cachalia said.
He confirmed that the security cluster’s senior leadership had already acted and that specialised policing capacity would be strengthened urgently.
“I have asked the National Commissioner to take further steps to strengthen the anti-gang units and to deploy specialised units of the South African Police Service, on which I’m expecting a report in the next two weeks,” he said.
Cachalia stressed that intelligence-led policing would be central, with multidisciplinary task teams involving the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and South African Revenue Service (SARS) targeting the leadership, finances, firearms and logistics of criminal cartels.
He framed the Madlanga Commission as a turning point for reform.
“I have made it clear that the establishment of the Madlanga Commission is a moment for the country to reset policing on a positive trajectory,” he said.
Interim recommendations are already being implemented, he added, revealing plans for a National Police Board.
Draft legislation has been prepared, and an interim governance panel is being considered to oversee reforms while the law is finalised.
Defence Deputy Minister Bantu Holomisa acknowledged systemic corruption across the state, including the security sector.
“The honeymoon is over. Corruption and maladministration have not merely touched the state; they have engulfed it, reaching even into our law enforcement agencies,” Holomisa said.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said implementation of the commission’s findings was already under way, including the re-vetting of senior SAPS and metro police officials by the State Security Agency (SSA).
She confirmed that officials implicated before the commission would be prioritised and that progress was being made on reforms flowing from the Zondo Commission.
EFF leader Julius Malema accused the president of presiding over a collapse of law enforcement and relying on the army as a last resort.
“Under your term crime has spiralled out of control, and your deployment of the army is a last resort. You are admitting that you have failed to fight crime,” Malema said.
He argued that crime could not be solved through force alone, linking criminality to unemployment, substance abuse and school dropouts.
He also alleged deep political interference in law enforcement and intelligence structures, saying the ruling party was the “biggest syndicate”.
Malema further referenced former police minister Senzo Mchunu, accusing the president of retaining him “at the taxpayer’s expense”.
ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip challenged Ramaphosa’s credibility on corruption, raising the issue of the alleged illicit possession of foreign currency and the failure to report its theft to the police.
ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli defended the reform agenda, citing the Criminal Justice Reform Initiative and the Whistle-Blower Protection Bill as measures aimed at addressing the “moral rot” exposed in parliamentary processes and the commission.
DA leader John Steenhuisen called for an end to cadre deployment and sustained intelligence-led policing, while Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi urged swift, well-resourced re-vetting and severe consequences for officials implicated in what he described as “treason”.
“We must replace failing race-based empowerment frameworks with ones that tackle poverty. The DA’s ‘Economic Inclusion for All’ Bill represents a significant step toward achieving a vision of genuine economic empowerment for ALL South Africans and is the type of reform our country urgently needs,” said Steenhuisen.
“Second, we must get local government working. Outlaw cadre deployment once and for all, appoint on merit, hold officials accountable, and root out corruption. competence must determine who runs our cities and towns so that our people are served by their local government, not the other way around.”
INSIDE POLITICS