The Citizen reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) called for a devolution of the SA Police Services (Saps) after its National Commissioner Khehla Sitole admitted before the Police Portfolio Committee on Thursday that the force would be handicapped in fulfilling its mandate following organisational restructuring.

The Saps force is currently undergoing restructuring to trim its personnel to meet budget requirements. The party said that the recent civil unrest that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng made it evident that Saps was poorly managed, resulting in its failure to carry its mandate to protect and serve the public. The DA’s Shadow Minister of Police, Okkie Terblanche, said that the only way to bring back the police force to its full capability was a devolution. “As it stands, allowing Saps’ power to sit with provinces and municipalities will ensure that needs of local communities are much better met and will allow local crime rate to plummet,” said Terblanche.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen

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