By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
The National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola alongside Acting Minister of Police Dr Firoz Cachalia and his deputies Polly Boshielo and Cassel Mathale facilitated the procurement of two new airbus helicopters and 12 Nyalas in an effort to strengthen The South African Police Service’s (SAPS) national security as well as their operational capacity.
“Minister Cachalia, as part of our efforts to advance and intensify our crime-fighting efforts, we deemed it necessary to add the two brand new H125 helicopters ZT-REC and ZS-HGA- as the 12 Marshall vehicles, you see here today, to our existing fleet,” said Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale.
The vehicles are stated to be manufactured by Paramount South Africa and Airbus South Africa. General Masemola has stated that the procurement of these vehicles are part of efforts that form part of SAPS’s Strategic Policing Plan in order to plan ahead of the National Safer Festive Season Operations which will come into effect next week.
“This additional fleet will play a crucial role in enhancing SAPS’s operational capacity and capability, as well as strengthening national security,” said General Masemola.
“It will enable us to improve our service delivery and increase efficiency in fulfilling our constitutional mandate of preventing, combating and investigating crime” Masemola added.
The SAPS have emphasised the importance of having these vehicles as resources in order to fight against violent crime.
“These helicopters and vehicles will be vital for our specialised units such as the Special Task Force, Tactical Response Team, National Intervention Unit, Public Order Policing, and visible policing.” said General Masemola.
“This new fleet will assist in responding to organised crime incidents such as cash-in-transit heists, hijacking, armed robberies and other serious crimes. The helicopters will allow for rapid deployment to crime scenes, helping us serve the people of South Africa quickly and effectively,” added the General.
A weekly nationwide initiative aimed at targeting violent crimes that occur in hotspots and will target these hotspots through raids and roadblocks as this initiative will be called Operation Shanela II, and this new procurement of fleets is aimed at making this initiative run smoothly.
“Just this week, we arrested more than 17,000 suspects-17,247 to be exact-for various offences, ranging from illegal possession of firearms and ammunition to possession of illicit substances,” said Masemola.
General Masemola has expressed that he hopes that these new resources can inspire a new sense of hope and assurance to the general public that the SAPS is dedicated to strengthening their efforts towards fighting crime.