Police return AfriForum’s hand sanitisers
The organisation claimed in a statement that Maj Gen Rampota, of the Gauteng Provincial Police Office, demanded that police stations refuse to accept hand sanitisers from AfriForum last week and that police stations that have already been given sanitisers, should return them.
In a statement on Friday, Police Minister Bheki Cele explained the SA Police Service’s rejection of a donation of hand sanitisers from the civil rights organisation, AfriForum, stating that the donation didn’t go through official channels.
This follows the organisation donating 5 000 bottles of hand sanitiser to police units in Gauteng this past week to help protect police officers from contracting Covid-19 while carrying out their duties.
Despite appeals for help by officers at these stations, the police’s provincial management persisted in their refusal of the hand sanitisers.
“It is primarily the government’s responsibility to protect police officers, who find themselves in the front lines of this crisis against contracting the virus. Very few police stations have received adequate equipment, such as masks, gloves and hand sanitisers up to now. It is therefore immoral and extremely irresponsible of senior police officials to endanger the lives and health of police officers by refusing our bona fide help,” says Ian Cameron, AfriForum’s head of community safety.
According to Cameron, AfriForum’s objective with the donation was to assist the police against getting the virus while on duty. Using hand sanitisers could also mean that police officers would have a reduced risk of being infected by colleagues who could already have the virus, but are unaware of it.
“The virus has the potential to put a whole police station out of action – and that’s something we can’t afford,” says Cameron.
Acting spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters said the minister welcomed the goodwill of some civil society organisations who have extended a hand to the law-enforcement agencies, augmenting what management has put in place in terms of hygienic and protective supplies to the members.
“Some media was a leaked official and internal correspondence which, the police minister believes, was published with the malicious intention of blowing things out of proportion,” said Peters.
Minister Bheki Cele has gone on to reiterate that as with all government departments, the SAPS has a responsibility to uphold Treasury Regulations and in this case, implement the donation policy of the organisation.
“Let me repeat what I said to SAPS management when we were still under a State of Disaster, the national crisis we find ourselves in can never be used as justification to flout processes and procedures,” he said.
Cele has subsequently encouraged the AfriForum and any other individual or organisation wishing to assist the SAPS with supplies to engage with the SAPS management at a national level for the necessary exemption in relation to gifts or donations.
“It is important to clarify that the handing over of the said hand sanitisers by the AfriForum to a specific SAPS unit in Gauteng, could not be accepted as the donation did not go through the authorised processes as informed by Treasury Regulations.
“The offer is welcomed as a sign of goodwill and for this, the minister will encourage the SAPS management to engage the AfriForum to better coordinate this process of handing over and receiving of the donation,” Peters added.
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