'DA's Call for the Devolution of Policing Powers is a Self-Serving Political Strategy'

Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu

As crime continues to ravage the country, questions have been constantly asked on many fronts. At a macro level, the national government is blamed for lacking strategies to combat crime. This is an indictment of the government and its failure to protect its citizens. 

At a micro level, the blame lands squarely on the local police stations and their leadership for failing to put proactive measures in place to prevent crime from happening, instead of reacting once crime has already been committed.

This situation is compounded by the allegations recently made by KwaZulu-Natal’s Lt General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Among other things, Mkhwanazi alleged that some in the top brass of the police force are perpetuating crime instead of combating it. This happens through corrupt practices such as bribery and related matters.

Some provinces are affected more than others. For example, provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape are among those adversely affected by criminal activities. This should not come as a surprise, given that these provinces drive the country’s economy. As such, they attract more people – including criminals.

But crime involving government officials does not fit this analysis. The government has tentacles everywhere around the country. Government officials at the national level have access to resources that they can use to carry out their illicit acts.

In the context of all these developments, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has been making a call for the devolution of policing powers to the provinces, especially in the Western Cape.

At face value, this call is plausible. It shows a party that is worried about the level of crime in the country. It also creates the impression that the DA in the Western Cape is aware of the criminal activities and gangsterism ravaging the province. It also tacitly implies that the national government has failed, and that the province would be better positioned to root out this scourge.

But when looking deeper into this call, several questions arise. For example, are things as simple as the DA wants to make us believe? Would such devolution of policing powers assist in dealing with crime? Importantly, is the DA genuine in its call, or is it simply using this as a strategy to have a grip on power in that province? Put differently, is the DA’s argument that the powers of the police nationally should be devolved to provinces, or is its focus specifically on the Western Cape? 

These are not easy questions to answer. But the best way to tackle them would be to start by citing the Constitution of this country. Chapter 1 Sec 1 of the Constitution states clearly that “The Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign, democratic state.” This means that no province enjoys more rights and privileges than others.

Chapter 3, Sec 40(1) states that “In the Republic, government is constituted as national, provincial and local spheres of government which are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated.”

According to this section of the constitution, neither the provincial nor local government can perform the duties allocated to the national government. But Section 100 of the Constitution states that the national government can intervene in provincial government. Similarly, Section 139 empowers the local sphere of government to intervene in local administration.

Therefore, any attempt to even entertain the DA’s proposal would first have to consider constitutional amendments. As we know, amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority. Surely, the DA does not have the numbers to meet this threshold. As such, for its proposal to work, it would need the support of other political parties.

Another concern is that crime in the Western Cape is not solely the responsibility of the South African Police Service. Cape Metro police have a role to play in this regard. To do that, they do not need the national government’s approval. So, why can’t they deal with crime in their province?

What is intriguing about the DA’s proposal is that it is now part of the national coalition government. By implication, if ‘national government’ has failed to address crime in this country, such indictment also applies to the DA, which no longer wears the ‘official opposition’ tag it wore up to the sixth administration.

This takes us back to the question posed earlier on whether the DA is genuine with its call or simply playing politics. This immediately leads to the conclusion that the DA is playing with the real feelings and desperation of the South African people. It knows that if it plays ‘hero’, it might win a few votes. Importantly, should these policing powers be devolved to the province, the DA would have more power to do things its way.

Given that South Africa is not a federal state like Nigeria, which has 36 states ruled by governors, it is unlikely that policing powers would be devolved to the Western Cape government but not to the other eight provinces across the country. One wonders if the DA ever applied its mind in making this call or was simply inward-looking. These are some of the concerns raised by this call.

Crime is a national crisis. The government has a responsibility to curb it with the hope of eventually ending it. The DA is part of the government. So, if it realizes that there are failures in government, which it is part of, it can use its members who are in President Ramaphosa’s cabinet and their members who serve in relevant committees to suggest ways to deal with crime. This decision to call for the national government to devolve policing powers to the only province it is in control of is self-serving.

The Western Cape has hinted at possible secession. This call for the devolution of policing powers to the province could be interpreted as part of the party’s bigger strategy. The DA’s timing is wrong. It should have made this call while it was the official opposition. Making this call now, when it is part of the national government, makes the call a mockery.

* Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu is Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.