In a rather bizarre turn of phrase the newly appointed national police commissioner, Mangwashi Phiyega, said, “You don’t need to be a drunkard to own a bottle store”.
Speaking to reporters in Pretoria, she was trying to allay fears that her lack of experience in policing might make her incapable of doing the job.
In a rather bizarre turn of phrase the newly appointed national police commissioner, Mangwashi Phiyega, said, “You don’t need to be a drunkard to own a bottle store”.
Speaking to reporters in Pretoria, she was trying to allay fears that her lack of experience in policing might make her incapable of doing the job.
The metaphor she used probably did more to confuse listeners than allay fears. Whoever thought you would want a drunkard to run a bottle store? He would probably sample his wares too often and abuse the establishment that he was charged with managing.
But has this not been the problem with police top management over recent years – power-drunk men abusing the organisation they are supposed to be managing for the good of the nation?
No, we don’t want drunkards to own (or run) the bottle store. Perhaps a woman with absolutely no experience in the police force, but plenty of experience in management, is precisely what we need. In any event, it is extremely improbable that Phiyega will do any worse than her predecessors.
The South African Policing Union (SAPU) said the appointment of a civilian as police commissioner was an insult to the country’s police force and subtly pointed out that previous civilian appointments had not worked out too well.
Earlier this week, President Jacob Zuma fired the previous police chief, Bheki Cele, for his alleged improper and unlawful acquisition of office space while his predecessor, Jackie Selebi, is serving a 15-year prison term for corruption. To put it bluntly, top management in the police force has been a catastrophic mess of corruption and criminality. It is therefore no surprise that the police force in general has not been able to serve the country properly – if the leadership is dysfunctional one can hardly expect the organisation to work effectively. For these reasons, criminals run rampant all over this country – nowhere is safe.
ou cannot walk across Church Square without looking out for muggers. You cannot go to sleep at night without thinking about how to react when robbers break in to your bedroom and you wonder why senior police officers need to hire private security companies to install alarms in their houses.
Above all, we need effective leadership in the police force and it makes no difference whether this effective leader comes from the private sector or not. We wish you well in your new position, Mangwashi Phiyega, and we hope you do a fantastic job. This country needs you.
