The South African Police Service (SAPS) is set to name a new Provincial Commissioner for the Western Cape on Wednesday, the first in a series of leadership changes to be announced across four provinces this week.
Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane will announce the appointment at the SAPS Provincial Headquarters in Cape Town alongside Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety Anroux Marais.
The appointment will fill the vacancy left by Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, who retired at the end of June after serving as the province’s top cop.
Major General Luyanda Damoyi has been acting in the position since July 1, after previously serving as the Western Cape’s Deputy Provincial Commissioner.
The announcement comes as government moves to implement the Police Reset Agenda, with Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia saying the strategy had moved beyond policy discussions into an implementation phase.
Addressing the second Police MINMEC meeting of 2026, Cachalia said the meeting represented a shift towards coordinated action between national, provincial and local government.
“This has not been another routine intergovernmental meeting. It has been a strategic decision-making platform that has institutionalised the implementation of a National Reset Agenda for Policing as the common programme of action of national, provincial and local government,” Cachalia said.
Cachalia said the Police Reset Agenda would initially focus on 140 high-crime police station precincts identified for targeted intervention.
“MINMEC resolved to prioritise interventions in 140 high-crime police station precincts across the country,” he said.
“These stations will become the first implementation sites of the Reset Agenda, receiving targeted operational support, enhanced oversight, improved resource allocation, infrastructure upgrades and rigorous performance monitoring.”
SAPS said the appointment of new provincial commissioners formed part of efforts to strengthen leadership within the organisation through its organisational renewal programme.
“The appointments form part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen leadership within the South African Police Service, in line with the organisational renewal programme and reinforce the organisation’s commitment to professional, ethical, accountable and effective policing in support of the SAPS Reset Agenda,” the police service said.
The Western Cape is the first of four provinces where SAPS will announce new provincial commissioners this week.
Further appointments are expected in North West on Thursday, followed by Limpopo and Mpumalanga on Friday.
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Hope Ntanzi
iol.co.za