New constables for the Eastern Cape – Talk of the Town

Of 274 new constables assigned to the Eastern Cape, two will be coming to Ndlambe, but only temporarily. They are among 778 newly qualified constables who graduated nationally. In parallel with the Bhisho SAPS Academy, the police held three other passing-out parades on October 4, at Bishop Lavis Academy in the Western Cape, Mankwe Academy (North West), Moloto Academy (Mpumalanga). Passing out parades at Graaff Reinet and Mthatha academies were held on October 5.   

Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene said the boost was welcomed ahead of festive season operations and that the province expected to receive more new constables by  December. Deputy Minister of Police Polly Boshielo was the guest of honour at the Bhisho  passing-out parade. 

“The government remains committed to ensure South Africa achieves the United Nations recommendation of one police officer for every 220 people,” Boshielo said.  “As of 2023, the police-to-population ratio is 1: 423, which means we still need to work harder to recruit more police officers.” 

The new constables successfully completed the six-month introductory Police Development Learning Programme, with pertinent qualifications in the field of law, policing and criminology. The parallel parades were attended by several stakeholders, families and friends of the newly qualified constables.  Proceedings ended with drill displays. 

“They are ready and prepared to add more boots on the ground, and to combat and prevent emerging crime trends,” SAPS spokesperson Warrant Majola Nkohlki said.  They would be deployed to various police stations and specialised units, such as Public Order Police (POP), Visible Police (Vispol), and the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit.  

“Their deployment is crucial as it will bolster the SAPS capacity to combat crime in the Eastern Cape.” 

In response to an enquiry from Talk of the Town, SAPS spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy said two of the new constables would be deployed to Port Alfred; however there would be no new deployments at Alexandria, Kenton-on-Sea, Bathurst, Seafield or Nemato. 

“Members are only placed at Port Alfred for work exposure and not placed permanently,” McCarthy said. 

Meanwhile, chairperson of Nemato based volunteer group Port Alfred Crime Fighters, Bonakele Moyikwa, said a petition handed to the Nemato Police Station last month included a demand for the upgrading of that facility, along with more vehicles to improve the capacity of officers based there. Speaking in the context of the horrific revelations that emerged regarding the abduction, rape and murder of Phelokazi Mdyumbata, he said it was essential for the Nemato Police Station to be properly capacitated. 

“That includes the telephone lines to Nemato Police Station,” Moyikwa said. “They are fixing that.”

• This article was first published in Talk of the Town, October 10, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.

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